Queen Elizabeth sends England team 'good wishes' ahead of Euro Cup final

London [UK], July 11 (ANI): Queen Elizabeth II has sent a good luck message to the England team ahead of their Euro Cup final clash against Italy on Sunday.
England and Italy will lock horns at the historic Wembley Stadium to decide the next champion of Europe. After two epic semi-finals, London now hosts a decider which, for the first time in Euro history, will feature England
The Three Lions had defeated West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 World Cup final. The Queen was in attendance as she witnessed the high octane clash.
"55 years ago I was fortunate to present the World Cup to Bobby Moore and saw what it meant to the players, management and support staff to reach and win the final of a major international football tournament," a message from Windsor Castle read.
"I want to send my congratulations and that of my family to you all on reaching the final of the European Championships, and send my good wishes for tomorrow with the hope that history will record not only your success but also the spirit, commitment and pride with which you have conducted yourselves," it added.
Since that famous World Cup triumph at the previous Wembley Stadium, England has lost in the semi-finals of five major tournaments: EURO '68 and '96, the 1990 and 2018 World Cups, and the 2019 UEFA Nations League.
However, Gareth Southgate-led English side has buried those ghosts of the past as they have seen off Germany, Ukraine and, Denmark to earn their chance to end 55 years of drought in the Euro 2020 final.
Southgate's men will have the opportunity to make themselves national heroes when they step out in front of 60,000 supporters at Wembley. And the nerves will no doubt be rising among the squad as they look ahead to the biggest match of their careers
Facing Three Lions will be the formidable Italians who are arriving in London with a 33-match unbeaten run. Their last defeat came all the way back in September 2018.
Roberto Mancini's men held their nerve in a semi-final penalty shootout battle with Spain, while previously eliminating the world's no.1 ranked team Belgium in the quarter-finals. They conquered Austria in the extra time for their last-16 win after dominating Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales to top Group A.
Since the start of the tournament, Italy has netted 11 goals in the tournament with Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne, Manuel Locatelli, Matteo Pessina, Federico Chiesa, and Nicolo Barella being the scorers.
But for England, eight out of their 10 goals have been scored by Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling which can become a problem for the home side in a tight final.
Italy and England have faced each other 27 times, the Azzurri winning 11 to Three Lions' eight, with eight draws.
Notably, 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. (ANI)