Finalissima 2022 is coming up. What is its history and where will it take place?

The 2021/2022 football season is coming to an end, but there are still some important and interesting matches to be played. After the final matches of the two European cup competitions, the weekend’s highlight of the most prestigious one – the Champions League – will follow. In June, there is a national team window when, in addition to the Nations League and the World Cup barrage, another interesting event will take place.

June will see a duel called Finalissima and an attempt to build on two experiences from three decades ago. The two strongest football continents are traditionally Europe and South America. That is one of the reasons why their championships are one of the most watched sporting events.

This offers the opportunity to compare the strengths of the winners of the EURO and Copa América tournaments, the latter being the teams of Italy and Argentina. And they will square off against each other on Wednesday 1 June to follow the duels of 1985 and 1993.

France’s reign at the Parc des Princes

The first clash between the European and South American champions took place 37 years ago, then played on the summer date of 21 August. The 1983 Copa América belonged to the Uruguayan footballers, and a year later the French dominated the European Championship.

In 1985, the national teams were given the opportunity to win one more trophy. They competed for it at the European champion’s ground in the Parc des Princes in Paris. The competition had a different name then, the Artemio Franchi Cup, named after the late Italian official, among others the former president of UEFA.

In front of a crowd of 20,000, the French team won 2-0. The goals were scored by Dominique Claude Rocheteau and José Touré, who together with their teammates, led by captain Michel Platini, were able to lift another trophy above their heads.

Argentine joy after the drama

The opening match was followed up eight years later. In 1993, the clash between the champion countries was given a winter date, namely 24 February. This time, the event was hosted at the South American stadium in Mar del Plata, where hosts Argentina welcomed unexpected European champion Denmark.

Craviotto opened the scoring with an own goal, but the Argentines equalised in the 30th minute to make it 1-1. The remainder of regulation time was tied and extra time followed. However, there was no goal in that period either, so a penalty shootout had to be decided.

In addition to the goal scorers, it was also a battle between two quality goalkeepers, Goycochey and Schmeichel. The Argentine goalkeeper was luckier in the end, as he was not able to take three kicks, while his Danish opponent allowed one more attempt behind his back. The winning team included Diego Maradona, Diego Simeone and Gabriel Batistuta.

Another Italian delight at Wembley?

The first two editions of this event have not been followed by any more. This year, however, that will change as the famous Wembley Stadium in London will play host to a duel between the Italians and the Argentinians called Finalissima 2022.

But the cooperation between UEFA and CONMEBOL is set to be more substantial. It is only part of a cooperation that also includes activities related to women’s football, futsal, youth categories, referees and technical training.

The evening of the first day of June will therefore be devoted to the football clash between Italy and Argentina, the European and South American champions from last summer. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:45 and will also be broadcast live on Sport 1.

Source: UEFA