The England national football team will lock horns with Italy in a mouth-watering UEFA 2020 final, which will be played at the Wembley Stadium in London in the early hours of Monday, July 12.

Under the tutelage of head coach Gareth Southgate, The Three Lions will aim to end their 55-year wait for a piece of major international silverware. They last won the 1966 FIFA World Cup and are yet to lift a UEFA European Championship title.

On the other hand, Roberto Mancini’s Italy national football team has been on a 33-match unbeaten streak and the Azzurri will look to claim their second UEFA European Championship after clinching their maiden title at home in 1968.

Ahead of the final showdown, we picked our combined XI (3-4-3) from both the world-class squads:

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and England custodian Jordan Pickford have had stellar Euro 2020 campaigns for their respective sides. While England shot-stopper Pickford has been confirmed as the Euro 2020 Golden Glove winner for keeping five clean sheets and conceding just one goal in six matches so far, Italy No. 1 Donnarumma saved Spain’s Alvaro Morata’s penalty in the shootout to help the Italians secure a place in the final. 

 

The 22-year-old Italian keeper has conceded three goals in six matches and has kept three clean sheets in the ongoing tournament. While it was difficult to choose between the two, we have gone with Donnarumma as our preferred choice for his commanding presence between the sticks.

Centre-backs: Leonardo Bonucci (Italy), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy) and Harry Maguire (England) 

Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously stated, “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.�?The duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have been the stalwarts of the Italian defence for more than a decade now. The two veteran centre-backs have once again been rock solid at the ongoing European Championship, registering three clean sheets for the Azzurri.

 

Slotting in a three-man defence will be England centre-back, Harry Maguire. After missing the opening few games due to fitness concerns at Euro 2020, the 28-year-old Manchester United captain has been instrumental at the heart of England’s defence since returning to the playing XI in the group stage encounter against Czech Republic.

Right wingback: Kyle Walker (England)

Kyle Walker pips his Italian counterpart Giovanni Di Lorenzo for the right-back position for our combined XI. The 31-year-old Manchester City defender has been one of the standout players for The Three Lions at the ongoing European Championship. With his searing pace, Walker has been providing width in attack and stability to the England backline with his impressive recovery speed. In this system, Walker will have more freedom to attack and link up with the forward line.

 

Left wingback: Luke Shaw (England)

Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola would have been an automatic choice for the left-back position if not for the horrific injury that he suffered during their 2-1 win over Belgium in the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-final. The Roma full-back was one of the most influential players for the Italian side in the tournament. In Spinazzola’s absence, England full-back Luke Shaw has been picked in the left-back position. The Manchester United defender has been outstanding with his marauding runs forward and has provided three assists in the tournament. 

Midfielders: Marco Verratti (Italy), Jorginho (Italy)

For the midfield role, we have picked the Italian duo of Marco Verratti and Jorginho ahead of the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice and Manuel Locatelli. While PSG’s Verratti has once again shown why he is touted as one of the best deep-lying midfielders in the world, Chelsea’s Jorginho has become the heartbeat of the Italian national side. Both Verratti and Jorginho have been vital cogs in the Azzurri midfield, controlling the tempo of matches. 

Forwards: Raheem Sterling (England), Harry Kane (England) and Lorenzo Insigne (Italy) 

Raheem Sterling has arguably been England's player of the tournament at Euro 2020. The Manchester City winger has scored three goals and assisted once in the ongoing edition of the European Championship. In our 3-4-3 formation, the 26-year-old will play at the right-wing position ahead of Italy’s Federico Chiesa and Bukayo Saka of England. 

 

On the other hand, picking Harry Kane as the striker in our combined XI is a no-brainer. The Tottenham Hotspur forward has already bagged four goals in the tournament and is just one behind Euro 2020 top-scorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick, who have scored five apiece. For the left-wing position, we have picked Italy’s Lorenzo Insigne ahead of England’s Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho. The Napoli winger has been impressive for Italy, scoring a wonder goal against Belgium in the quarter-final. 

Manager: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

For our combined XI, we have picked Italy’s Roberto Mancini as our head coach over his England counterpart Gareth Southgate. The former Manchester City manager has transformed the Italian national side after the Azzurri had failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup for the first time in 60 years. Since then in three years, Italy have produced some delightful football and are currently on a 33-match unbeaten streak, which is a national record.

Featured photo: ALBERTO LINGRIA / Andy Rain /Matt Dunham/Laurence GRIFFITHS, Frank AUGSTEIN //POOL / AFP

A pandemic-enforced 2019/20 football season finally concluded last Sunday (August 23) as Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich lifted their sixth UEFA Champions League title, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final in Lisbon, Portugal.

Arguably the longest season of football, the campaign has had its fair share of ups and downs, but it duly provided the entertainment that was promised. 

It has been more than a year since the 2019/20 season got underway, given that the quarter-finals of the Champions League took place four months later than its original schedule. So it is all but human to forget most of the action and incidents that took place during the year.

With that being said, we take a trip back to refresh the memory and look at five things that happened during the 2019/20 season.

Kyle’s a keeper

Manchester City played Atalanta in the group stage of the Champions League in October 2019. Pep Guardiola’s side went ahead in the opening 10 minutes but then lost Ederson Moraes to an injury during half-time.

“Ladsss! Don’t worry, I’ve got this!!!�?pic.twitter.com/plNvgbKtaQ

�?Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) November 6, 2019

Out came Claudio Bravo as his replacement, and Atalanta were quick in finding an equaliser. Now with both sides searching for the winner, Bravo received his marching orders in the 81st minute for a rugged sliding tackle on Josip Ilicic outside the box. Now with no keeper at his disposal, Guardiola decided to throw in right-back Kyle Walker on the goal. And well, the former Tottenham defender made more saves (1) than both Ederson and Bravo combined on the night.

Did you say Genk or Gent?

Liverpool were scheduled to play Genk away from home in October, but two confused supporters had to watch the game in an Irish bar in the Belgian city of Gent, around 80 miles from Genk, despite having the match ticket.

As it turns out, the pair got confused between Genk and Gent, and it was some 30 minutes before the kick-off that they realised their error. Financially, they had spent �?0 each on their match tickets and �?50 each on train tickets, a total of �?40 just to watch their team play live from an Irish bar some 150 kilometres away from the venue.

Last October, they ended up in @Stadgent when they actually wanted to see @LFC play Genk in the @ChampionsLeague So to cheer them up, we invited them to our game against @KRCGenkofficial tonight. Glad you made it this time Lee & Rob Have a good one! #GntGnk #kaagent pic.twitter.com/bbM35t5iR9

�?KAA Gent (@KAAGent) January 25, 2020

But there was something fruitful waiting for the pair, as Gent invited them for a Belgian First Division game against Genk a couple of months later. And guess the scoreline; it was Genk 4-1 Gent.

Lewandowski started as 30 and finished as 32

This might confuse you a bit, but what you read is exactly what happened. 

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski started the 2019/20 season as a 30-year-old, and by the time he lifted the Champions League trophy in Lisbon on Sunday, he was 32. 

Here's a fun fact:
Robert Lewandowski turned 32 on Friday, he was only 30 when the season began!

�?Andy Wales * (@AndyArmchair) August 23, 2020

The 2019/20 Bundesliga season kicked off on August 16 2019, five days before Lewandowski’s 31st birthday, meaning that he was 30 when the Bavarians played their first league game. And a night following his side’s 3-0 win over Lyon in the semi-finals of the Champions League, he turned 32.

See? No rocket science.

Ball boys were sent off

Eight red cards in a single game would usually bring it on the cusp of abandonment. But that wasn’t the case when Yeovil Town squared off against Bromley in the National League back in September 2019.

With Yeovil leading 3-1 at home, not only players but even the ball boys started delaying the game. Referee Aaron Jackson warned one of the ball boys some 10 minutes before the final whistle, but when a similar incident happened, he put out eight reds.

85 | Update: he's dismissed all of them...

(3-1) #YTFC

�?Yeovil Town FC (@YTFC) September 28, 2019

"One ball boy delayed giving the ball back to Bromley's Sam Wood about 10 minutes from the end and was warned by the referee," explained BBC Somerset commentator Chris Spittles.

"But when the same ball boy repeated the trick shortly after, the referee asked for them all to be removed. One steward was tasked with gathering them all in and leading them away down the tunnel.

Bayern threatened to boycott Germany international team

Ahead of Germany’s friendly against Argentina and a EURO 2020 qualifier against Estonia in September 2019, Bayern Munich President Uli Hoenes warned the national camp, saying that the club will stop allowing their players to join Joachim Low in his national team if Manuel Neuer is replaced by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

The latter had previously quoted that he has every right to complain about being behind Neuer in the pecking order, but Bayern seem to have taken this to heart.

"We would never accept that (Ter Stegen replacing Neuer as No.1)," Hoeness told Bild. "(If Bayern are informed of the change) before it happens, we won't send any players to the national team anymore."

As it turned out though, the Barcelona keeper was indeed chosen ahead of Neuer, but his appearance came against Argentina in a friendly, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Against Estonia though, Neuer kept his place as the 2014 World Cup winners won the game 3-0.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Marco Bertorello

Manchester City's Kyle Walker says he is being 'harassed' after admitting he breached coronavirus lockdown rules to visit his sister and parents.

The defender was forced to issue an apology last month after media reports that he had hosted a party at his home.

But Walker has hit back at the latest stories, insisting that he is being targeted and that the ongoing controversy is affecting his family's health.

In a statement on his official Twitter feed, Walker wrote: "I have recently gone through one of the toughest periods of my life, which I take full responsibility for."

"However, I now feel as though I am being harassed.

"This is no longer solely affecting me, but affecting the health of my family and my young children too."

Walker admitted contravening coronavirus regulations again by visiting Sheffield to see his sister and his parents - for which he could be fined and cautioned by police.

Read | Bayern Munich agree to sign Leroy Sane on five-year deal

"In relation to the events on Wednesday, I travelled to Sheffield to give my sister a birthday card and present, but also to speak to one of the few people I believe I can trust in my life," he said.

"She hugged me to remind me that she cares and that I am loved. What am I meant to do - push her away?

"I then travelled to my parents' house to pick up some home-cooked meals. Again, it's been an extremely tough couple of months for them."

He criticised the media for invading the privacy of his family, saying he constantly felt he was being followed.

Aston Villa's Jack Grealish was forced to apologise in March after breaching lockdown rules, while Everton strongly criticised Moises Kean for hosting a party last month.

Walker said the response to his actions had been disproportionate, raising mental health concerns and saying his family had been 'torn apart' by the continuing scrutiny.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Javier Soriano

Kyle Walker is facing disciplinary action from Manchester City after reportedly breaking coronavirus lockdown conditions by hosting a party party with sex workers even though he has advised people to stay at home.

The England defender, 29, has apologised after the Sun newspaper reported that he invited two call girls to his flat on Tuesday.

On Wednesday Walker posted on social media, urging the public to follow government guidelines on social distancing.

View this post on Instagram

#StayHomeSaveLives

A post shared by Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) on Mar 28, 2020 at 8:02am PDT

Britain reported 621 more deaths from COVID-19 as of 1600 GMT on Saturday, taking the total toll to 4,934. 

"I want to apologise to my family, friends, football club, supporters and the public for letting them down," Walker said in a statement.

"There are heroes out there making a vital difference to society at the moment and I have been keen to help support and highlight their amazing sacrifices and life-saving work over the past week."

Walker is the second high-profile Premier League player to have been caught flouting the government's guidelines after Aston Villa's Jack Grealish.

The Villa captain went to a party last weekend and was pictured next to a road in slippers, just hours after he posted a video urging fans to stay safe at home on social media.

pic.twitter.com/XxoEt4yZNj

�?Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) March 30, 2020

Grealish apologised and was fined and disciplined by Villa.

Football is on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak and City will now look into Walker's conduct.

A club statement said: "Our staff and players have been working to support the incredible efforts of the NHS (National Health Service) and other key workers in fighting the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus in any way we can. Kyle's actions in this matter have directly contravened these efforts.

"We are disappointed to hear the allegations, note Kyle's swift statement and apology, and will be conducting an internal disciplinary procedure in the coming days."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff

It’s time! Where is Lionel Messi? Has anyone seen Messi? He needs to be on the stage in 30 seconds. 

Wait! Who? Isn’t Paul Pogba winning the Ballon d’Or this time?

Have you completely lost it? Messi is the best player on the planet. 

Wait! Where am I? *shimmering around*

Welcome to a world without Messi. In this world, we commemorate Pogba for his incessantly bizarre hairstyles and give away the prize to keep him away from the game for as long as possible. You really think he’s injured, don’t you? No son! We promised him this honour at the start of this season and he agreed, faking his injury to make it count.  

The journalists from across the universe came together to choose a man who is not the influence we need on our kids while growing up. Have you seen his hair? Argh! This is our way of keeping him at bay from the limelight and away from the pitch. 

We have rewarded him with the prestigious Ballon d’Or to keep his services limited to him. 

Thank you for staying away, Paul!  

Paul Pogba's New Hairstyle is Lit @paulpogba#paulpogba #newhairstyle #pogba #france #manunited pic.twitter.com/VIQRgA662B

�?Score Football (@Score_Football_) December 14, 2017

Don’t get me wrong, he is still one of the good ones. But as one wise man said before, ‘You got to look the part as well.�?Guess Paul didn’t receive that memo. 

Hell! 

You have to appreciate the gutsy approach that this guy carries so effortlessly and the spat with Manchester United’s ex-manager, Jose Mourinho about why it took so long for him to reach the training, only because he was getting a new look done, is beyond our comprehension.

Bonnes fêtes à tous @ManUtd #manutd @equipedefrance #fiersdetrebleus @adidasfootball #heretocreate pic.twitter.com/njyGT01AHf

�?Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) December 26, 2018

Anyway, we all love a good story and we wanted to recognize it with the grandest prize in football.  

Lingard lifts the ‘Kopa’�?/strong>

Ageless, definitive, spell-binding and leading at an age where people even struggle to find a mentor, Jesse Lingard is a solid proof that once you go around, you have to lock it down. Can you imagine leading Manchester United in the Europa League? Oh, the pressure on the poor chap!  

Honestly I'm Team CR7 but Jesse Lingard deserve this award, He's never bottled any trophy throughout his career, a very talented young prodigy.. Congrats Lingo #BallonDor2019 pic.twitter.com/mEe8RyLK73

�?Mr GTA Ayaman (@TheIronTheIroko) December 2, 2019

The lad is brimming with unparalleled confidence and will surely be one of the greats in the future.

It's 2078 :

Commentator: That young lad Jesse Lingard starts for Manchester United Legends in a testimonial match against Barcelona Legends and will be a great prospect for the future!! pic.twitter.com/lfmfjxqQS2

�?Manish khichar (@manishkhichar96) November 26, 2019

Given his social media presence, he has the support of the fans who adore every bit of his theatrics. He is surely a trendsetter and at his age and we couldn’t help calling the veteran World Cup winner, Kylian Mbappe to present him the Kopa trophy.  

You shall not pass

Can you imagine keeping a clean sheet in the UEFA Champions League along with a 100% save rate? How can you overlook such an astonishing accomplishment between the posts? But one man, Kyle Walker made us believe in the unimaginable. He led us down that path and showed us that greatness lies in sustaining belief in your coach and the almighty. We are with you Kyle on this one. 

You do deserve all the glory in the world and the ‘Yashine Trophy�?will be secured in the comfort of your home in Manchester or any of your beach houses if that’s where you want it. 

£50m Kyle Walker becomes the third most expensive goalkeeper of all time

�?Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) November 6, 2019

Josip Ilicic, Atalanta’s midfielder expressed his difficulties when he saw Walker keeping for Manchester City who clearly told the media that how tough it is for the opponents to score when Walker is at the post.  

Clean sheets in the Champions League this season:

Adrián + Alisson: 0
Hugo Lloris: 0
Kyle Walker: 1#ATAMCI. pic.twitter.com/k7ktXlhx4m

�?Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 6, 2019

Pep Guardiola has made some changes in the squad and has announced that Walker will be his first-choice goalkeeper going forward and the Spanish manager will tend to rely on him at every given chance. When called for a comment on his win at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Walker declined to answer, citing he was busy keeping his house safe.

Feature image & Article Image courtesy: AFP / Franck Fife