Euro 2012: 10 Reasons England Can Down Italy

By no means has this been an easy ride for England. Despite watching their manager get sacked four months before the tournament, enduring controversial choices to make the squad, experiencing injured players and Wayne Rooney's suspension, England, somehow, found themselves winners of Group D.

England were impressive throughout the group stage. They played efficient football through all three matches and had some great work compiled in goal. Part of England's success has to come from a lack of pressure, due in large part to the actions of the past several months.

In their first knockout stage match in the European championships in eight years, England will face Italy—their first matchup against the Azzuri in 10 years.

This matchup will be an intriguing one to watch. Italian defender Daniele De Rossi quipped "England are a very Italian team," while the English media is starting to once again think this will be their chance to win an international tournament.

But England do have a realistic chance of reaching their first semifinals in any tournament since 1996.

Here are 10 reasons to believe that the the Three Lions could win this matchup.

Strong Defensive Philosophy

When De Rossi said that England were reminding him of the Italian national team, he was clearly right. England have displayed a strong defensive philosophy through their first three matches.

The English have deferred to allowing the opposition dictate the action. During their three group stage matches, England's opponents possessed the ball for 57 percent of the match but were only able to score three goals.

When on the defensive, England were able to limit their opponents to a completion percentage of 74 percent when the ball was played into the attacking third. Altogether, England's opponents failed to complete 120-of-457 passes in that area of the pitch.

England used a variety of tactics to hinder their group stage opponents. They held a high success rate on tackles (73 percent). England also made 52 interceptions—the most of any side in Group D.

But where the Three Lions' defensive effort deserves the most effort comes in how they forced opponents to take shots outside of the penalty area. England's opponents took 62 shots during the group stage but just 16 of them were inside of the penalty area.

Considering it's harder to score the further a shot is taken from the goal, England are less likely to concede a goal on any given shot.

Wayne Rooney

After his suspension for the first two group stage matches, no one knew how Wayne Rooney would perform against Ukraine.

Rooney did not have the greatest match of his career, completing just 67 percent of his passes and creating one chance, though, he did score the only goal of the match.

Though these stats are far from convincing, Rooney did not perform in a terrible fashion considering that this was his first match in a month. Rooney still took the most shots of any English player (four) and will be well rested for this quarterfinal.

Italy have yet to face a striker of Rooney's talents for a complete match in Euro 2012. The best striker whom Italy have faced so far is Fernando Torres, who played for about 20 minutes in the Italians first match of the tournament. 

Torres was not particularly effective, but he still nearly scored. If it weren't for a fantastic tackle from Gianluigi Buffon, Torres could have scored the winning goal for Spain.

Considering how well Rooney has played in the past year for Manchester United and the English national team, the Italian defense could be in for a long evening.

Lack of History with Italians

Though they are both giants in European football, England and Italy have rarely faced each other. In only 23 career meetings, Italy have nine wins, while England has seven, with the remaining seven matches ending in draws.

This quarterfinal will be the first match between the two sides in over 10 years. The last time that England and Italy faced each other in a tournament came in 1990 in what was the third-place match of the World Cup.

Italy won their only meeting in the European championships against England, which took place in 1980.

Unlike their history with opponents like Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Portugal, there isn't much negative history to dwell upon heading into this quarterfinal. Considering that there's no historical precedence heading into this fixture for these current players, England will find themselves under less pressure.

Loss of Giorgio Chiellini to Injury

Giorgio Chiellini has been one of the top defenders on the Italian national team since the World Cup triumph the Azzuri had in 2006.

But Chiellini has been ruled out of this fixture with a thigh strain. Considering the impact that Chiellini has on the Italian national team, this loss will be tremendous.

England will have better offensive opportunities with Italy's best defender sidelined. The famous defensive ideology that's practiced by Italy will be harmed.

England's Experienced Squad

England are known for using many experienced players in their starting XI. This English squad has eight players who will be at least 30 years old by the end of 2012 featuring in their 23-man squad.

That experience is prevalent throughout this squad. Ashley Cole is the most capped England international at international tournaments. Former captain John Terry has appeared in England's last four international tournaments and is among the top central defenders in the world.

And captain Steven Gerrard has now participated in five international tournaments for England and has always performed well, even when the rest of the squad has failed to produce.

Younger players like Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott have been involved with the English squad for years.

That experience has seen failures at the international level but has seen success occur (though it has mainly occurred at the club level).

At this stage of a tournament, experience is key and could be a major tipping point in favor of the Three Lions.

Joe Hart's Heroics

Joe Hart has been considered to be one of the top goalkeepers in the world considering his fantastic play with Manchester City. But the Barclays Golden Glove winner from the past two Premier League seasons has brought his play up to the next level.

Through the group stage, Hart faced 17 shots but only conceded three goals. Proving his leadership time and time again, Hart has become a part that England have missed since the retirement of David Seaman—a great goalkeeper.

Goalkeeping has hurt England in their last several international tournaments (just ask Robert Green). But Hart's play could be more than enough for England to advance.

Lack of Pressure on the English Squad

At every international tournament, it's expected that England will win. Granted they are in the top tier of international sides and have suffered from some bad luck, but the Three Lions have always been put under tremendous pressure.

England's lone success at the 1966 World Cup has always held back this squad. By winning that title, the media and fans have expected titles at every tournament, but England has never produced.

Considering Rooney's suspension and the dismissal of Fabio Capello, England were essentially written off by everyone.

With the bar at a historic low, England have been allowed to play their own game without worrying about repercussions at home. This looseness is key at tournaments like these and will be important in later stages of the tournament.

Managerial Knowledge of the Italian Game

After Fabio Capello took over the English national team several years ago, he installed a defensive philosophy that allowed England to become one of the best defensive national outfits in Europe. In fact, England only conceded 11 times combined in qualification for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Since taking over, Roy Hodgson has kept that approach, which has worked well for the English. Hodgson has also helped England by understanding the European footballing network through his various managerial jobs throughout Europe.

Hodgson, of course, managed Inter Milan twice during the 1990s and understands the defensive approach that must be used in order for England to win against Italy.

Offensive Efficiency

Though England has allowed their opponents to possess the ball for almost three-fifths of the match, the English still outscored their opposition five to three in the group stage.

Without their top striker in Wayne Rooney, England were still remarkably efficient. They were able to do this by being remarkably efficient with their offensive chances.

On just 11 shots on target, England scored on five of their attempts. An efficient offense is critical when a side allows their opponent to dictate how the game is going.

With Rooney back for this quarterfinal and with some great offensive weapons, England should get on the scoresheet if they can get shots on target.

Italy Have a Poor Record in Extra Time

England's failure to perform on penalty kicks is synonymous with their footballing brand. Going into this quarterfinal, England has only once prevailed on spot kicks, which was in Euro 1996 against Spain.

But Italy have also performed miserably in extra time in international tournaments. In 1990, Italy failed to win on penalties against Argentina. The 1994 World Cup Final is remembered for Roberto Baggio's penalty that sailed well over the crossbar.

In 2000, Italy did defeat the Dutch on penalties, but they failed to win in extra time during the final against France. Eight years later, Italy failed on penalties to the eventual champions, Spain.

The only time that Italy had any sustained success came in the 2006 World Cup, where Italy defeated Germany 2-0 in extra time and prevailed on penalties against France in the final. But those instances appear to be the outlier for an Italian squad that's almost as bad as England.

Considering this match features two defensive-minded sides, expect to see a low-scoring match with a very real possibility of spot kicks. For once, England may be should be considered to be favorites to win on penalties with Joe Hart in goal against Buffon.

England have put in preparations for a potential penalty shootout and considering the luck that England has enjoyed so far, they could once again get lucky should the score remained tied after 120 minutes.

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