Match Threads for the 2012 Euros

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Euro 2012 quarter-final

England v Italy




Venue: Olympic Stadium, Kiev
Date: Sun, 24 JuneKick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: BBC One, BBC One HD, BBC Sport website and BBC Radio 5 live

England are expected to be unchanged for Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final against Italy in Kiev.

Manager Roy Hodgson is likely to retain Danny Welbeck as Wayne Rooney's striking partner and leave both Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott on the bench.

Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini will miss the tie because of a thigh injury.

The Juventus centre-back, 27, picked up the injury in Monday's 2-0 group win over Ireland with Leonardo Bonucci set to take his place against England.

"The scan he underwent confirmed it's a strain. He will certainly miss the game on Sunday," team doctor Enrico Castellacci said.

"Obviously in a competition like this you have to try everything to have him back as quickly as possible but we will not take any unnecessary risks with his muscles."

Castellacci dismissed concerns that Chiellini's injury was a recurrence of the problem that had made him doubtful for the tournament.

MATCH PREVIEW

Cesare Prandelli celebrated victory against Ireland by embarking on a 3am walk to a local monastery, keeping his promise that Italy's coaching staff would make the 13-mile trek if they reached the quarter-finals. They didn't return to their Krakow hotel until 7am, and could be in for another late night in Sunday's quarter-final, which won't finish until gone midnight (local time) if extra-time is required.

And with neither side boasting especially impressive penalty shoot-out records, Prandelli will no doubt hope for some divine intervention if the match is settled from 12 yards.

Many England fans will have celebrated avoiding Group C winners Spain, but in terms of international pedigree it's very much a case of what Italians call "dalla padella alla brace" - out of the frying pan into the fire. Four-time world champions, Italy may occasionally slip-up in the group phase of tournaments, but in the latter stages they are incredibly hard to beat.


In contrast, England have not beaten one of world football's heavyweights in a competitive game since victory against Argentina at the 2002 World Cup. Their last knock-out win against a nation of similar stature is the slightly fortuitous penalty shoot-out triumph against Spain at Euro 96.

The Three Lions' quarter-final record is disappointing - they have lost seven of 10 matches at either European Championship finals or the World Cup, with their only overseas win at this stage the 3-2 victory against Cameroon in 1990. The Italians, meanwhile, have lost only two of nine quarter-finals - and both of those were shoot-out defeats (to France at the 1998 World Cup and Spain at Euro 2008).

Italy's relationship with English football has been described as love-hate. Despite winning two World Cups in the 1930s the Azzurri struggled to shake off an inferiority complex, and went 40 years without beating the Three Lions.

That all changed in 1973, when future coach Fabio Capello netted in home and away friendly victories in the space of five months. Capello's imprint remains visible on this England squad and his successor, Roy Hodgson, is also well versed in Italian football, having spent two seasons in charge of Inter Milan.

England's disciplined, tactical approach has not gone unnoticed in the Italian media, some of whom have suggested it's now the Three Lions, rather than the Azzurri, who play "Catenaccio".

A defensive approach certainly worked for Chelsea in the Champions League - with their victory in the final, overseen by Sunday's referee Pedro Proenca, incidentally. However, with Wayne Rooney available and Steve Gerrard back to his best, England will believe they have the firepower to hurt Italy, who will be without key defender Giorgio Chiellini.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

•The 22 previous meetings have produced nine wins for Italy, seven for England and six draws.
•The Azzurri have the edge in recent history - they have lost just once against the Three Lions in 35 years (W6, D2, L1). Their only loss in that time was a 2-0 reverse at Le Tournoi in Nantes in 1997, when Ian Wright and Paul Scholes got the goals.
•Italy won the two previous meetings at major tournaments; Marco Tardelli got the only goal in Turin to give the hosts victory in a group game at the European Championship in 1980. And Italy beat England 2-1 in the third-place play-off at the 1990 World Cup, with goals from Roberto Baggio and Toto Schillachi. David Platt got England's reply in Bari.
•Italy won the last meeting, at Elland Road in March 2002. Robbie Fowler put England ahead before Vincenzo Montella netted twice. Gianluigi Buffon is the only survivor from that game.


England

•The Three Lions did not register a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes against Ukraine - the last time that happened to England in a European Championship game was in the 1-0 loss to Italy in 1980.
•England had the best chance conversion rate (21.7%) in the group stages of Euro 2012.
•Just two of the last six winners of the European Championship have finished top of their group - Spain (2008) and Germany (1996).
•England and Greece were the only teams who failed to catch an opponent offside in the group stage.
•England have won one of their six previous penalty shoot-outs at major tournaments - beating Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 1996 after a 0-0 draw.
•Wayne Rooney has 29 international goals and needs one more to go joint-fifth on England's list of top scorers, level with Sir Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse and Alan Shearer. Only Michael Owen (40), Jimmy Greaves (44), Gary Lineker (48) and Sir Bobby Charlton (49) have scored more.


Italy

•In the last 24 years, Italy have lost only two knock-out games at European Championships or World Cups, excluding penalty shoot-outs. They were beaten 2-1 in the Euro 2000 final against France, and 2-1 by South Korea in the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup.
•They have lost only two of nine quarter-finals - and both of those were shoot-out defeats (to France at the 1998 World Cup and Spain at Euro 2008).
•The Azzurri had the best defensive record in Euro 2012 qualifying, conceding just twice.
•Andrea Pirlo made 2,778 successful passes for Juventus this season - the highest tally of any player in one of the top European leagues.
•They have lost five of seven penalty shoot-outs at major tournaments, and two of three at European Championships; they beat the Dutch in the semi-finals of Euro 2000, but lost to Spain in the quarter-finals four years ago and to Czechoslovakia in a third-place play-off in 1980.