Euro 2020: Phil Foden misses England's training session ahead of final against Italy
Jul 10, 2021
London [UK], July 10 : England forward Phil Foden was not present at the team's final training session on Saturday as 21-year-old suffered a "minor knock" ahead of Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy.
The other 25 players in Gareth Southgate's squad trained as normal at St George's Park to prepare for the historic final at the Wembley Stadium as per Sky Sports. The whole squad of 26 have passed UEFA-mandated PCR COVID-19 tests ahead of the game. The Football Association(FA) didn't give too many details regarding Foden's absence, as they kept their cards close to the chest ahead of the massive match against Azzurri.
The right-wing position has been a matter of concern for England head coach Gareth Southgate since the starting of the European Championship and Foden was one of the players who was in contention to start for the home side in that position. Foden has featured in three Euro 2020 matches so far and came on as a substitute in extra-time in the 2-1 semi-final win over Denmark, replacing Mason Mount.
Earlier, Foden had warned his teammates not to become overwhelmed by the atmosphere and hype surrounding England's first major tournament final appearance since 1966.
"There are going to be so many emotions for the final with all the fans there," Foden said on the England official podcast. "But as players, we have just got to stay focused and treat it like it was the first game of the tournament. We don't need to change anything as we've been brilliant in every game and (hopefully) we can get over the line."
Ahead of the big-blockbuster final clash, Italy and England have faced each other 27 times, the Azzurri winning 11, the Three Lions eight and there have been eight draws. England suffered tournament-ending losses in both the teams' previous EURO encounters. Marco Tardelli's late goal earned Italy a 1-0 win in the 1980 group stage while Italy prevailed on penalties in the 2012 quarter-finals.
Italy has never lost to England at major finals, with the 2-1 FIFA World Cup victories in 1990 (third-place play-off) and 2014 (group stage) on top of those EURO triumphs.
