England are planning a 'home' friendly against Italy in Switzerland in a move that is sure to trigger outrage among club managers.
The game has been earmarked for Berne’s 32,000-seat Stade de Suisse on August 15 - three days before the start of the Barclays Premier League season.
It will be England’s first game against Italy for more than a decade but cannot be held at Wembley because the date set by FIFA comes so soon after the Olympic Games, which end on August 12.
Friendly affair: England plan to play Italy in Switzerland in August
The men’s gold medal match is on August 11 and the FA are investigating the idea of a return to Switzerland, having played a successful friendly in Geneva against Argentina in 2005.
Euro 2012 ends on July 1 and England will be keen on a warm-up game before the World Cup qualifying campaign gets under way in September with a trip to Moldova and a home game against Ukraine.
But FIFA’s traditional August friendly date, which is under threat in the longer term, always provokes anger from club managers.
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Rank | Team | W/D/L | Pts |
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Cities & Stadiums
The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments
Year | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Spain | Germany | Russia / Turkey |
2004 | Greece | Portugal | Netherlands / Czech Republic |
2000 | France | Italy | Netherlands / Portugal |
1996 | Germany | Czech Republic | France / England |
1992 | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands / Sweden |
1988 | Netherlands | Soviet Union | Italy / West Germany |
1984 | France | Spain | Denmark / Portugal |
1980 | West Germany | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | West Germany | Netherlands |
1972 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Belgium |
1968 | Italy | Yugoslavia | England |
1964 | Spain | Soviet Union | Hungary |
1960 | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia |