Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

Its coming home haters gonna hate

England and Italy go head to head in a competitive match for the first time since October 11th, 1997. Last time these 2 sides met, the game ended in a goalless draw in Rome. England qualified as the first team to World Cup 1998 in France whereas Italy had to overcome Russia in Play-Offs in order to book their place in France. A lot has changed in the past 15 years. Football has changed since then, and in a few hours we’ll see how the tactical battle between Prandelli and Hodgson pans out. England haven't been fun to watch so far, but they've been extremely efficient. No one expected them to finish top in group D, but they did it and now they want to push on and make a major tournament's semi-final for the first time since 1996. Italy have been fun to watch and gave Spain a lot of trouble. However, there are still question marks regarding their defense as even Ireland managed to threaten them a few times. This game has the potential to be very interesting as both managers will need to make decisive decisions regarding their formation, player selections and tactics. We'll go through some of them in this article.

Wayne Rooney | Second Striker or Lone Striker
England didn’t play with 2 out and out forwards against France in their opening game and Ashley Young kept dropping deep to help the midfield. I was thinking whether this is in Roy’s mind to play a somewhat false number 10 when England play better teams. Hodgson has a lot of options for this game and he needs to choose wisely. Rooney can operate both as sole attacker, or just behind the striker in Roy’s favoured 4-4-1-1 formation. Will he play just behind Welbeck like the game against Ukraine? Will Young play behind Rooney? Or will Andy Carroll comeback to the side to give a new dimension to England’s attack? Hodgson has shown in his previous games that he doesn’t care much about losing the midfield battle, so I don’t think we’ll see Rooney as lone striker. Rooney and Welbeck had an excellent partnership in Manchester United this season, but were very underwhelming against Ukraine. With Chiellini (Italy’s most aerially dominant player) out, Carroll could be a very useful option against Italy’s defense. Italy are expected to have majority of possession and in that case, a Target man would be a great outlet in a counter attacking team. There are no concrete rumours from England’s camp about who’ll partner Rooney tomorrow, but I have a feeling Welbeck will start and Carroll will be used as an impact sub since he is more of an impact player than Welbeck.

How to Nullify Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo is undoubtedly Italy’s most important player. He’s the heart-beat of this Italian team and has been in superb form since joining Juventus last summer. He scored 1 goal and assisted 2 in Italy’s 3 group stage games and will be a key man tomorrow. Manchester United and Alex Ferguson showed how you can decrease Pirlo’s impact on a game when United went head to head with AC Milan in Champions League a few years ago where a high pressing game especially by Park and Fletcher really handicapped Pirlo. Of course, Hodgson’s England play a different game. They allow their opposition to have possession (as Ukraine had 71% possession on Tuesday night), so they will have to come up with another plan to nullify Pirlo. Pirlo will be protected by Marchisio and Motta (or De Rossi if Italy opt for a 4-3-1-2) which will give him enough time to dictate the play. I expect England to sit deep, and virtually play with 4 centre backs (Parker, Gerrard, Lescott, and Terry) and look to dispossess Italy around their box and start counter attacks using Gerrard’s dynamism and passing in addition to Young’s pace and Rooney’s movement. England will look to limit Pirlo’s passing options and Rooney will drop deep to put pressure on him. Whether this tactic will work or not, we’ll find out soon.

Italy’s Dilemma | 5-3-1-1 or 4-3-1-2
Italy played with 3 in the back and 2 wingbacks in their games against Spain and Croatia, whereas they switched to a 4 men defense against Ireland. It will be interesting to see which formation Prandelli opts for tomorrow. I have to say Italy looked a lot more fluid in their opening 2 games and created more goal scoring chances. However, playing offensive wingbacks could be very risky against England’s rapid wingers (Young, and Walcott- if he starts). On the other hand, Thiago Motta is not very good at playing the Trequista in 4-3-1-2, and I can’t see Prandelli starting both Balotelli and Di Natale which will see Cassano occupy the trequista role. Another alternative for that role is Giovinco, but he is more of an impact player and I expect him to come off the bench if needed. Cassano will play a big role in tomorrow’s game as he’ll have to drag England’s defenders out of position with his movement in order to create space for Balotelli and Marchisio (who will make runs into the box). 5-3-1-1 will allow Italy greater control of the game and I think it’d be a better choice as Italy’s fullbacks, even in a 4-3-1-2 aren’t that reliable defensively against England’s counter attacks.

Mario Balotelli
Going by his interview today, super Mario is definitely in mood for some controversy. His talent is absolutely undeniable, but his temper and antics could play a huge role in tomorrow’s game. John Terry is likely to try and wind him up from the start, and Balotelli (if he starts) need to stay calm and not over-react. Despite his friendship with likes of Hart, Milner, and Lescott, the entire England camp will be looking to take advantage of his temper and he is likely to be targeted. He’s shown great movement and awareness in this tournament so far, and after his wonderful finish against Ireland the other day, it’ll be absolutely vital that the right Balotelli shows up as the game could be decided depending on which Mario Balotelli will show up tomorrow.

Penalties
This has been England’s nightmare for years now. They’ve been knocked out of major tournaments in penalty shoot outs quite frequently in recent years (1998 WC, 2004 EC, 2006 WC) and they would want to end this curse. Hodgson has been practicing penalties with his squad and Joe Hart will be a great asset if the game indeed goes to penalties. It appears that Gerrard, Rooney, Cole, Hart and Terry will be England’s first 5 penalty takers (assuming they are still on the field after 120 minutes), whereas Italy’s penalty taking situation is a bit more complicated as likes of Cassano and Pirlo probably won’t have the stamina to last 120 minutes and are likely to be replaced by then. Buffon’s experience will be invaluable in this case, and if the game was to be decided by the shoot outs, Italy will have the edge in my opinion.

Overall, I predict a tight battle which will be very different to the one sided quarter finals we’ve seen so far. Both teams will be patient, and first team who scores will have taken a massive step towards semi-finals. Don’t be surprised if penalties decided this game, it’s very possible.

aleumdance wrote:fish and chips leave me in cloud 9

just saying

Ganso wrote:Who the hell eats 2 eggs, beans and tomatoes in breakfast

Le Samourai wrote:Eggs and Tomatoes are GOAT.

But Beans

Gemini wrote:Result really doesn't matter here it's inevitable whoever wins this match gets ko'd next

Ganso wrote:Who the hell eats 2 eggs, beans and tomatoes in breakfast....that shit cray

Spoiler:

JespSwe wrote:love to see italians beat england just for the sake of shutting the big mouth of english media and bury themselves with their own words.

... lol not aimed at english fans here in forum they are alright... but english media is always acting biaaaaaaaaaaaatch...

Ganso wrote:Who the hell eats 2 eggs, beans and tomatoes in breakfast....that shit cray

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Art Morte wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Black pudding


Rainy day in Finland, this must be a good sign for England! Get in, let's do this!

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Black pudding


Rainy day in Finland, this must be a good sign for England! Get in, let's do this!

Sunny day in California. Bad sign for blotchy skinned people. Good sign for tan good looking people. The Limeys are gonna get burned! Forza Azzurri!

Art Morte wrote:

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Black pudding


Rainy day in Finland, this must be a good sign for England! Get in, let's do this!

Sunny day in California. Bad sign for blotchy skinned people. Good sign for tan good looking people. The Limeys are gonna get burned! Forza Azzurri!

Oh there will be a rainy ending to your sunny day when your tears start to drop once Italy are out - which will be tonight!

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Black pudding


Rainy day in Finland, this must be a good sign for England! Get in, let's do this!

Sunny day in California. Bad sign for blotchy skinned people. Good sign for tan good looking people. The Limeys are gonna get burned! Forza Azzurri!

Oh there will be a rainy ending to your sunny day when your tears start to drop once Italy are out - which will be tonight!

Italy vs England will be like Canada vs Finland in hockey. A win. LOL.

Art Morte wrote:

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

sbaggio wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:
I usually have eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding and toast.

Black pudding


Rainy day in Finland, this must be a good sign for England! Get in, let's do this!

Sunny day in California. Bad sign for blotchy skinned people. Good sign for tan good looking people. The Limeys are gonna get burned! Forza Azzurri!

Oh there will be a rainy ending to your sunny day when your tears start to drop once Italy are out - which will be tonight!

Italy vs England will be like Canada vs Finland in hockey. A win. LOL.

Oh no you didn't... England 4 - 0 Italy !