England and Italy go head-to-head on Sunday evening in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
After four weeks of pulsating, engrossing international football, two of the pre-tournament favourites will battle it out to be crowned champions of Europe.
Gareth Southgate’s players have the opportunity to end England’s 55-year wait for a major trophy, while Roberto Mancini is aiming to end Italy’s European Championship hoodoo having lost two finals this side of the millennium.
Ahead of the game, GIVEMESPORT have ranked both of the 26-man strong squads from ‘World-class’ to ‘Lucky to be at Euro 2020’.
Based on a combination of their career reputations and performances during the tournament, we’ve placed every player into one of six categories.
Raheem Sterling, Jorginho, Phil Foden, Giorgio Chiellini, Harry Maguire, Harry Kane, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Leonardo Bonucci, Marco Verratti
Nine players get the ultimate compliment of being labelled world-class.
Raheem Sterling and Jorginho are both strong contenders for the Player of the Tournament award, while veteran defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have used all their years of wisdom to marshal the Italian defence with classy conviction.
Harry Maguire has come a long way since being embroiled in controversy in Mykonos last summer and his displays at Euro 2020 have underlined his status as one of the best centre-backs in world football when he’s at his peak.
Phil Foden has had a quiet tournament but is undoubtedly a world-class talent at just 21 years of age.
Kieran Trippier, Nicolo Barella, Federico Chiesa, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish, Lorenzo Insigne, Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount, Manuel Locatelli, John Stones, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Ciro Immobile
Most of these players have the ability to be world-class on their day but fall just short of the top tier.
Nicolo Barella and Manuel Locatelli have both earned plenty of admirers throughout Euro 2020 while Jack Grealish has added regular injections of flair from the substitutes bench for England.
Federico Chiesa, John Stones and Kyle Walker have all had excellent tournaments.
Kalvin Phillips, Leonardo Spinazzola, Declan Rice, Luke Shaw, Jordan Pickford, Matteo Pessina, Domenico Berardi
The midfield axis of Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice has been a foundational feature of England’s route to the final, but it’s fair to say that few expected the duo to complement each other so effectively.
Jordan Pickford has silenced his pre-tournament doubters by conceding just one goal so far, while Luke Shaw continues to rise in stature following an excellent season at club level with Manchester United.
Leonardo Spinazzola was a menace on the overlap prior to his tournament ending injury and Matteo Pessina has chipped in with two goals, proving himself as an excellent squad option for Mancini.
Bukayo Saka, Alessandro Bastoni, Jude Bellingham, Giacomo Raspadori, Reece James
Bukayo Saka has been the most heavily involved of the five players in this tier, featuring on the right side of England’s attack in games against the Czech Republic, Germany and Denmark.
The others have all been on the fringes of their respective squads but are destined for massive futures in the game.
Decent:
Tyrone Mings, Andrea Belotti, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Conor Coady, Ben Chilwell, Rafael Toloi, Marcus Rashford, Bryan Cristante, Federico Bernardeschi, Emerson, Salvatore Sirigu, Alex Meret, Alessandro Florenzi, Francesco Acerbi, Gaetano Castrovilli
These players all deserve to play at Euro 2020 and are excellent at club level, but they’re not quite established enough to warrant their place in a higher tier.
Marcus Rashford has the talent to be considered ‘top level’ at the very least, but he’s still missing the consistency needed to truly realise the full extent of his potential.
Lucky to be at Euro 2020:
Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Sam Johnstone
Ben White was only called up to the England squad as a last minute replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, so he’d be the first to admit that he’s a touch fortunate to be involved even if he was in stellar form for Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2020/21 season.
Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone are both decent stoppers but they are major beneficiaries of a notable shortage in first-class English goalkeepers.
