Euro 2020 Final: Baichung Bhutia shares his expert prediction with MPL fans

Bhaichung, who was the first Indian footballer to play 100 international matches has shared his expert opinion on the much awaited Euro 2020 final tomorrow in a live chat. England will take on Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday. It will be the 28th meeting between the countries and first since a 1-1 draw in a friendly three years ago in London. At the start of the tournament the former skipper was rooting for France. When ANI asked Bhutia about France's chances at the start of the tournament, the former East Bengal forward was quoted as saying, “I think N’Golo Kante has gotten an engine. He is never getting tired. He has had a long season, but I do not think he is a player who is getting to get tired. For me, if France as a team does well and goes on to win Euro 2020, then I think, Kante has got a great chance to become the Footballer of the Year because he has had a great season, he is an unsung hero everywhere he has played, he is a great player.”

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Continuing further he said, “France is one of the favourites to win the Euro 2020, they have brought back Karim Benzema and how that is going to affect the chemistry on and off the field, he was dropped because he did not have a great relationship with the manager Didier Deschamps and players like Giroud. Now, he is back and it depends on how the manager manages him. But again as I said, France is the favourites and if they reach the finals or win Euro 2020, N’Golo Kante is going to be the footballer of the year for me.” It will be quite interesting to see who the former skipper picks as his winner.  Meanwhile, England head coach Gareth Southgate believes Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy is a contest between the two best teams in the tournament. "It's an exceptional team and I think, without doubt, the two best teams in the tournament have made the final, and now it's whoever performs well on the day," Southgate told Sky in Italy." Once you get to a final, you have to win, and that's going to be very difficult, we know that, but that has to be our ambition, and that has to be our belief," he added. Italy and England have faced each other 27 times, the Azzurri winning 11 to Three Lions' eight, with eight draws. England suffered tournament-ending losses in both the teams' previous EURO encounters. Marco Tardelli's late goal earned them a 1-0 win in the 1980 group stage while Italy prevailed on penalties in the 2012 quarter-finals. Notably, Italy has never lost to England at major finals, with 2-1 FIFA World Cup victories in 1990 (third-place play-off) and 2014 (group stage) on top of those.