UEFA
As England prepare for the UEFA EURO 2020 final against Italy on Sunday, the significance of the Three Lions' first major showpiece in 55 years is not lost on captain Harry Kane.
Yet far from being a heavy burden, the 27-year-old views the Wembley decider as an opportunity to be "remembered in history" as England bid to win a maiden European title. Kane on Saturday told UEFA about the final, how England's mindset has changed and how he's planning to handle Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.
He said, “To be playing at Wembley makes the occasion even bigger and even more special. To have our own fans there singing and edging us on – the energy is going to be amazing. So there will be no better place to win our second major trophy than at Wembley again”.
“It's a great moment in our history as a nation. The excitement is going to be through the roof; I'm sure there'll be a few nerves as well. It's just about going out there and feeding off all that energy in the stadium and the crowd and trying to use that to our advantage”, Kane said.
He added, “I said before the game [against Denmark] that there's a lot of questions about whether we'd learn from past experiences, from 2018. I said I feel like this squad have. We're in a better place mentally, dealing with those types of games. But it's about performing on the pitch and we definitely showed that. It was the first time we went behind in the tournament, the first goal we'd conceded.”
On facing Chiellini and Bonucci he said, “First and foremost, they are great defenders. They read the game really well and they know where to be; they've got great positioning. And, of course, they're two warriors. So I'm going to expect a big battle. But that's what you play football for. I just drive the battles against centre-halves all the time.”
