‘Youngsters against old men’ – Bonucci wary of England speed

Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci said they are wary of the speed of England’s attack ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2020 final, joking that for him and his defensive partner Giorgio Chiellini it will be “youngsters against old men”.

Juventus centre back Bonucci, 34, is set to make a record 18th appearance for Italy at the European Championships in the final, with club team mate Chiellini, 36, likely to be by his side.

The pair, who have 219 international caps between them, will face several much younger England attackers on Sunday, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, 19, Jadon Sancho, 21, Jack Grealish, 25, and Raheem Sterling, 26, set to play some part at Wembley.

“It is youngsters against old men,” Bonucci told a news conference on Friday. “They have very strong attackers, we will need great attention towards them and the whole team.

“We know the difficulties they can give us and we will have to be careful about their speed.

“We (he and Chiellini) finish on the 12th (July) and meet again on the 14th to go on vacation together. This says it all about our relationship on and off the pitch.”

Bonucci also had words of praise for the England defence, which has conceded just one goal all tournament en route to the final.

“England have a super defence, I already said this during the qualifying phase,” Bonucci added. “They have an excellent midfield, and behind them are (Harry) Maguire and (John) Stones who had great seasons at Manchester United and City.

“We will need to give great attention as a defence and show a lot of cunning to score in attack.”