LONDON (Reuters) – England coach Gareth Southgate has reverted to a back five for his side’s Euro 2020 final clash against Italy at Wembley on Sunday, with Kieran Trippier coming in for Bukayo Saka.
Southgate elected to go with the five-man defence against Germany in the last 16 with Trippier at right wing back and Luke Shaw on the left in that win, and he has used the same formula for England’s first European Championship final.
Arsenal teenager Saka drops to the bench, meaning Mason Mount will play in a wide forward position with skipper Harry Kane the lone striker through the middle, while Kyle Walker joins John Stones and Harry Maguire in central defence.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden is not in the squad having missed training on Saturday through injury.
“Italy cause you a tactical problem, they’ve got a familiar way of playing, and it’s difficult to resolve,” Southgate told ITV Sport. “We want to keep our attacking players a bit higher up, which we hope will cause them a problem on the counter.
“We need composure. We have to make good decisions on the field, to play with discipline, but also bring our best game. It’s not a day to be safe.”
Italy are unchanged from their semi-final success over Spain, with Emerson once again standing in for the injured Leonardo Spinazzola at full back.
Federico Chiesa, whose father Enrico scored at a European Championship on English soil for Italy in 1996, is again preferred in attack after his goal against Spain, with Marco Verratti fit to take his place in midfield.
Teams:
Italy: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (captain), Emerson Palmieri; Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Marco Verratti; Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne
England: Jordan Pickford; Luke Shaw, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier; Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Mason Mount; Harry Kane (captain), Raheem Sterling
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Ken Ferris)
