Dynamic attacking options give England a great chance of overpowering Italians

Before Wednesday's semi-final against Denmark the only major doubt I had over England was how they would respond if they went behind for the first time in the tournament.

They answered that question really impressively and they can take an awful lot of confidence from that victory into the final against Italy.

Soon after going 1-0 down, England equalised with a well-worked goal against a packed defence: a moment of magic from Harry Kane released Bukayo Saka, whose cross was turned into his own net by Simon Kjaer.

Denmark probably edged the first half but from then on England looked in control. Yes, the decisive penalty was very soft – I thought it should have been overturned – but England fully deserved to reach the final.

Once again we saw that the longer a game goes on, the more things swing in England's favour. Gareth Southgate has players who can change the game from the bench in virtually every position.

It is a massive advantage when your opponents are out on their feet, as Denmark were in extra time, and you can bring on a Jack Grealish or Phil Foden or Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford.

For that reason, I expected England to be even stronger favourites with bookmakers to win the final and I'd be backing them to do it in 90 minutes.

Despite the tension of the occasion, it could even end up as a one-sided contest because Italy looked a tired team in their semi-final against Spain.

Of course, both finalists played 120 minutes in midweek but Italy had to work far harder because they were chasing shadows for much of the game against Spain. The Azzurri have had an extra day of rest but that won't make much difference.

They were fortunate to get past Spain, who gave them the runaround in midfield but didn't convert their chances. If you're looking for positives as an Italy backer you'd say they showed their resilience and proved they're still as tough as ever in a battle.

But when Roberto Mancini brought on his substitutes, in contrast to Southgate, they didn't seem to make the team better or offer anything different.

If you go through the line-ups for the final then Italy have the advantage in the goalkeeping department and Gianluigi Donnarumma will need to be at his best because he should be the busier of the two keepers.

England look more powerful when it comes to the back four and the forward line so Italy must focus on controlling the game in midfield.

England's midfielders won't be able to do to Italy what Spain did on Tuesday because Busquets, Pedri and Koke were absolutely brilliant in the way they dictated the tempo and dominated possession.

But Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips can cause different problems, providing Italy with more of a physical challenge, and they have not done much wrong at this tournament. Mason Mount has been a little quiet by his usual high standards but it wouldn't be a surprise if he comes to the party in the final.

The midfield battle should be tight but England's forwards could overpower the Italian defence. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have been outstanding centre-backs for Juventus and the national team but will they fancy having Saka and Sancho and Raheem Sterling running at them?

The injury to Leonardo Spinazzola has significantly weakened Italy and Emerson, who hasn't played a lot of football at Chelsea, had a hard time against Spain.

That should encourage England to be positive and it could be a higher-scoring game than the betting suggests. I didn't fancy goals in the semi-finals, and they both finished 1-1 in 90 minutes, but Italy will have to come out and attack at some stage and that could be dangerous against this England side.

Given the way Italy have played in the knockout stages, I'm not sure they will be able to cope at Wembley and England have the quality not only to win this final, but to win it handsomely.

Brilliant Pedri could help Spain rule the world

Looking back on the Euro 2020 finals as a whole, you can't argue with England making the final.

They have conceded only one goal in six matches and they've got the player of the tournament so far in Raheem Sterling.

He has been England's most influential player in almost every game, scoring their first three goals at the tournament and causing all sorts of problems for opposition defences.

Saka has also been excellent when he's played – it was a big call to pick him ahead of Jadon Sancho in the semi-final but he delivered.

I'm not so sure that Italy deserve their place in the final. Spain should definitely have qualified from Tuesday's semi-final, which would have set up a more even contest against England in my opinion, but you have to take your chances in front of goal.

One huge positive for Spain is the performance of Pedri. If people didn't know about him before, from watching him at Barcelona then they certainly do now.

He played virtually every minute of Spain's campaign – he was taken off just before the penalty shootout against Switzerland in the quarter-finals – and to do that at 18 years of age, and to be so influential, is incredible. What a talent!

He's not the only exciting young player for Spain, who really improved as they went deeper into the tournament, and they could be big runners for next year's World Cup.

And, of course, you can say the same about England given the average age of their squad at the Euros. Those young players are going to be even better in another 18 months or so and these are exciting times for English football fans.

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