Spain passed the ball 932 times in their semi-final and only one pass was good enough to get behind Italy’s midfield. That came in the 80th minute when Aymeric Laporte found Alvaro Morata, who turned and ran directly at the Italian defence.
He played a one-two with Dani Olmo, ran by Giorgio Chiellini, then scored to take the game into extra time.
Jorginho has covered the second-greatest distance of any player at Euro 2020 — behind only Spain’s Pedri — because he is constantly moving to protect his centre backs. Chiellini is 36 and Leonardo Bonucci is 34.
Giorgio Chiellini is 36 (L) and Leonardo Bonucci (R) is 34 and England can expose them
Older defenders like having team-mates close by, and Italy’s three-man midfield of Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti do an outstanding job of blocking passes into the opposition front players.
They know opponents could punish Chiellini and Bonucci’s lack of pace if they get through, so they create a blockade, restrict space between the lines and press vigorously.
Barella, Jorginho and Verratti get through savage workloads in fulfilling this role and yet they seem to enjoy doing it for their elder statesmen.
England stars Raheem Sterling (L) and Harry Kane (R) can hurt Italy's backline on Sunday
But what Spain did with their front players Morata and Olmo is the sort of situation which England will want to create in tomorrow’s final.
They can do that by having Raheem Sterling or Mason Mount acting as the player who drops deep to collect the ball while leaving Harry Kane high up the pitch to play off.
The statistics say nobody has made more dribbles at Euro 2020 than Sterling. Chiellini and Bonucci would be petrified to see England’s left winger running at them, and Kane remaining at the top of the team would pin back those ageing centre halves.
Italy have a history of iconic defenders playing well into their thirties, like Paolo Maldini
Italy have a history of iconic defenders playing well into their thirties. Franco Baresi did it and so did Paolo Maldini. Now they have got Chiellini and Bonucci.
I was 35 when I made my last England appearance, and 37 when I last appeared for Arsenal in the Premier League. When you are competing at that age, you are aware that the end is near.
You try to make up for your lack of mobility and pace in other areas, and Chiellini and Bonucci are world-class organisers and peerless in their positioning.
But they have weaknesses which England can exploit.
MOUNT CAN STOP JORGINHO
