All Roads Lead to Rome as Italy Attempt to Break an Extraordinary Record at Euro 2020
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Roberto Mancini's Italy side are into the knockout rounds of Euro 2020 and they have done it in the typically astute, professional and eye-catching Italian style we are so used to seeing, which is something they have lacked tremendously for the past decade.
The four-time world champions have only tasted the knockout rounds of a major tournament once in the last three attempts, as they marched to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, before losing to Germany.
Now, however, seems to be their very best chance to win the European Championships since 1968 and get their hands on silverware for the first time since they conquered the world in 2006.
After thumping both Turkey and Switzerland 3-0 at the Olimpico Stadium in Rome, Mancini’s men have won 10 games in a row without conceding a single goal and that isperhaps the most precious Italian statistic you'll hear, given their decades of defensive resilience.
At the same time, Italy have gone 29 games in a row unbeaten, with the lasttime they lost dating back almost three years, as Portugal beat them 1-0 in the inaugural Nations League in 2018.
If they were to beat Wales in the final group game, not only would this further cement them as the team to watch this summer, it would also equal the record set by Vittorio Pozzo's Italy side of the 1930s, who went 30 games unbeaten.
There is a little bit of a difference here, however, as Pozzo's men just so happened to win back-to-back World Cups within that time period.
However, should Mancini's side match this and go a few further and win Euro 2020, they would also get close to matching the record of Spain (2007-2009) and Brazil (1993-1996) as the all-time record holders for consecutive international games unbeaten with 35.
Ironically, this was a time where Spain also won Euro 2008, and for Italy to break their own record but also the international one, they must triumph at Euro 2020 and make it six major international trophies and get just one behind Germany's European record of seven.So, it does seem as if all roads do indeed lead to Rome for this sensational Italian squad.
How Will They Break These Records and Get on at Euro 2020?
Well to match their own record, they must simply avoid defeat against Wales to make it 30 games unbeaten, but to match the international record set by Brazil and Spain, they must simply win Euro 2020 and get one more under their belt afterwards. Ultimately, what better incentive do they need?
And, after all, combine these potential record-breaking feats with their sensational form and the old-school Italian ways creeping back into their team, it might just be their year once again.
If they’re going to break records and win the tournament, they must hope captain Giorgio Chiellini is fit for the duration of the tournament after his worrying injury against Switzerland.
But elsewhere, they must simply hope for more of the same from everyone else, as they have, thus far, been the team of the tournament
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