Quarter-Final - England v Italy

England & Italy will complete the Quarter-Finals when they face off tonight in Kiev.

Roy Hodgsons, England, got here on the back of a draw with France, followed by wins over Sweden & Ukraine. That was enough to top Group D.

Italy claimed second in Group C after a win over Ireland and draws with Spain & Croatia.

Neither side have been great in this tournament but they have both done enough to get them through.

England look better under Hodgson. Previous English managers have been criticised over the style of football they play but there seems to be an attitude of we're not very good & we're just pleased to be here among the media & the fans.

This change of attitude has allowed Roy Hodgson to play to England's strengths which is far from the free flowing style previous managers have been forced to play.

England are able to play a more containing style & it suits them perfectly. England are quite strong in defence and they also possess a lot of pace in attack. Counter attacking football is perfect for this current England squad.

This England side remind me in many ways of the Greece side who won in 2004. Neither would be considered when discussing the best teams in the tournament but both have a great team spirit and will to win. The one difference in the two is that England do have one or two players who could be regarded as world class.

However, it is very difficult to play this containing style throughout a whole tournament. To win you will always require an amount of luck which so far England have had in abundance.

The bizarre Walcott goal in the Sweden game and the "ghost goal" in the Ukraine game are examples of this. If lady luck stays on their side and players like Terry, Cole, Gerrard & Rooney are at their best then England might just be crowned European Champions next Sunday.

Italy appear to have stuck to their 4-4-2 diamond formation, from the 2-0 victory over Ireland.

I expect Pirlo to be the deep midfielder and Montolivo to play behind the strikers. De Rossi and Marchisio should form a narrow 2 in the centre. Fullbacks, Abate and Balzaretti will be expected to get forward and provide width for the Italians.

Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano line up in attack for Italy and I do believe it is the right decision. Both have looked lively in the group games and I have been particularly impressed by Balotellis hold up play, something we have saw little of for Man City.

England players will no doubt have plenty to say to Balotelli as it is well known he isn't the hardest player to wind up but as long as Balotelli lets his football do the talking he can be the difference here.

I expect Italy will have large amounts of possession, but it will take the creativity of Pirlo or Montolivo to break down a difficult England defence. Italy will have to be wary not to push too many bodies forward as Rooney, Welbeck and Young all possess the pace to hurt the Italian defence.

I think this game will be tight and expect we could see the first penalty shootout of Euro 2012.


England 1-1 Italy (aet)