Italy vs Argentina 2022 Finalissima preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

The CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, previously known officially as the European/South American Nations Cup and commonly as the Artemio Franchi Cup, is an official super cup football match organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL and contested by the winners of the UEFA European Championship and the Copa América. Organised as a quadrennial one-off match, it is a national team equivalent to the former Intercontinental Cup featuring the club champions of Europe and South America.

The competition was held twice in 1985 and 1993 before being discontinued. The competition was relaunched starting in 2022, after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between CONMEBOL and UEFA.

FIRST EDITIONS AND ABOLITION

Created in 1985 as the European/South American Nations Cup, it was also referred as the "Artemio Franchi Cup" due the competition's trophy, named after the late Artemio Franchi, former president of UEFA who died in a road accident in 1983. It was organised jointly between CONMEBOL and the European confederation, acting as an intercontinental super cup. 

The competition was the national team equivalent to the Intercontinental Cup on the club level, played between the winners of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores.  The competition was to be held every four years, with the venue alternating between Europe and South America.

It was first played in 1985, between the winners of UEFA Euro 1984, France, and the winners of the 1983 Copa América, Uruguay. France hosted the match at the Parc des Princes in Paris, and won 2–0. 

The competition did not take place four years later, as the Netherlands (UEFA Euro 1988 winners) and Uruguay (1987 Copa América winners) were unable to agree on a date for the match. The next edition took place in 1993 between the winners of the 1991 Copa América, Argentina, and the winners of UEFA Euro 1992, Denmark.

 Argentina hosted the match at the Estadio José María Minella in Mar del Plata, and won 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. The competition was discontinued thereafter.

The Artemio Franchi Cup can be considered a precursor of the King Fahd Cup/FIFA Confederations Cup, played in 1992 for the first time and organised by FIFA from its third edition in 1997.

The competition featured title holders of the continental championships and FIFA World Cup.

 After the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, FIFA announced on 15 March 2019 that the tournament would be abolished.

RELAUNCH

On 12 February 2020, UEFA and CONMEBOL signed a renewed memorandum of understanding meant to enhance cooperation between the two organisations. 

As part of the agreement, a joint UEFA–CONMEBOL committee examined the possibility of staging European–South American intercontinental matches, for both men's and women's football and across various age groups. On 28 September 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL confirmed that the UEFA European Championship and Copa América winners would face each other in an intercontinental match, with the agreement initially covering three editions starting in 2022. 

On 15 December 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL again signed a renewed memorandum of understanding lasting until 2028, which included specific provisions on opening a joint office in London and the potential organisation of various football events. On 22 March 2022, UEFA announced that the "CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions" would be the new name for the Artemio Franchi Cup.

The 2022 match, known as the "Finalissima", will take place between the winners of UEFA Euro 2020 (held in 2021), Italy, and the winners of the 2021 Copa América, Argentina, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

MATCH INSIGHTS

The third edition of the Finalissima will take place at Wembley Stadium this week as Italy face Argentina.

The Finalissima, or ‘Grand Final’, sees the winners of the European Championship face off against the Copa America champions in a Super Cup-style match.

Italy claimed glory at Euro 2020 as they beat England on penalties in the final and will now return to Wembley for another showpiece match.

Argentina, meanwhile, edged past Brazil 1-0 to win the 2021 Copa America and Lionel Messi and co will head to London looking for more glory.

The Finalissima is a revamped version of the Artemio Franchi Cup which was last held in 1993.

Argentina played in that match too and beat Denmark on penalties at the Estadio Jose Maria Minella in Mar del Plata.

France won the inaugural Artemio Franchi Cup in 1985 as they claimed a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Paris.

Finalissima 2022: Date and kick-off time

Italy v Argentina will be held on Wednesday, June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London.

The match will kick-off at 7:45pm UK time.

It will be a one-off fixture played over 90 minutes. There will be no extra-time, so if it’s level at the end of regulation time, it will go straight to penalties.

A maximum of five substitutions will be allowed.

The referee will be Chilean Piero Maza.

Finalissima 2022: Tickets

Wembley will have a capacity of 86,000 for the match and tickets are being sold to fans on a first-come, first-served basis via UEFA.com.

FINALISSIMA 2022: THE TEAMS

ITALY SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa)

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Emerson Palmieri (Olympique Lyonnais), Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma)

Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Sandro Tonali (Milan), Marco Verratti (PSG)

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Gianluca Caprari (Verona), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Andrea Pinamonti (Empoli), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma)

ARGENTINA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Juan Musso (Atalanta), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Marcos Senesi (Feyenoord), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax), Nehuen Perez (Udinese), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (PSG), Alejandro Papu Gomez (Sevilla), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Joaquin Correa (Inter), Julian Alvarez (River Plate), Lautaro Martinez (Inter)

Finalissima 2022: What has been said?

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin: “UEFA and CONMEBOL have a long history and tradition together, notably through epic and thrilling competitions such as the Artemio Franchi Trophy and the European/South American Cup.

“I would like to thank the CONMEBOL Council for coming to visit us and for the many good ideas they have brought to the table.”

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