"It’ll be a final and obviously both teams will want to win". With one concise and clear sentence, extremely effective in summarising the plot of Sunday evening at Wembley, Marco Verratti described in a press conference the path towards what, most likely, represents the highlight of his brilliant career so far. "Whoever plays, whoever starts in the first minute or whoever comes on as the game progresses, I'm sure they'll play a great game, because a Euro final is an event that, unfortunately, you don't know if it will happen again in your career".

It’s already a challenge to crown the National Team as European Champions, and the charm of a classical international football match like Italy vs. England has already elevated this match to one with all the trappings of going down in history. Verratti continued: "I’m happy that I’ll be able to face a great side in England at Wembley, a prestigious stadium; it’ll be a historic match".

As in a film script where everything becomes clearer at the end, the Paris Saint Germain midfielder made his debut with the National Team against the Three Lions on 15 August 2012, when he was just 20 years old. Almost nine years later, he will face the English team in the final round of UEFA EURO 2020, who yesterday eliminated Denmark after going to extra time. Verratti commented: "England are a very physical team with extremely technical players. Moreover, they'll play at home, in a stadium they know very well. They have a great team balance, demonstrated by the fact that they’ve only conceded one goal in six matches this tournament. Can our midfield decide the game? This is where we have to make the difference and set the rhythm. Chiellini and Bonucci are two extraordinary players, both on and off the pitch, and as they get older they get stronger. We always feel secure with them and they let our midfielders go forward and press, knowing that they are behind us".

Then Verratti gave a quick comment on the whirlwind of emotions that has followed the Azzurri journey up to this moment: "Seeing the people in the piazze and their love for the tricolour, it gives you more strength and drive, so that you don’t have regrets afterwards. A final is a unique event, which also brings a lot of pressure with it. There's no need to put a load of pressure on the players and maybe that's the secret – forget everything else and try to play as 'carefree' as possible".

 

Itinerary (all times CEST)

Thursday 8 July
* 19:00 - Training

Friday 9 July
** 14:00 - Press conference
* 19:00 - Training

* Images will be produced and distributed by the FIGC
** Access to the media room will be limited to a small number of media

 

NOTE FOR EDITORS – By clicking on this link, it is possible to download photos from Marco Verratti's press conference. The images can be used after giving photo credit as follows: Credits: Getty for Figc.