Argentina and Italy national teams face each other at Wembley on Wednesday, June 1st for the Finalissima, a match that pits the winner of the Copa America against the winner of the Eurocopa. Under this context, here we present the most important matches that the legendary stadium located in the capital of England, London, has hosted.
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Before mentioning the most memorable matches, it is important to note that we will only provide matches played at the new Wembley, which was inaugurated on March 24, 2007. The old Wembley Stadium opened its doors in 1923 but was demolished to make way for the current sports venue.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the stadium is home to the English National Team and has a capacity for 90,000 spectators. It has also been used for non-football sporting events such as the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the NFL International Series.
Now, we present to you the most important football matches that have been played at Wembley, excluding matches from the Premier League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup, or Community Shield.
Most important matches played at Wembley
Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United: This match was played on May 28, 2011, for the UEFA Champions League final and had a total of 87,695 spectators. On that occasion, Barcelona's goals were scored by Pedro, Lionel Messi, and David Villa, while Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United. The victory meant the fourth European Cup for the 'culés'.
Mexico 2-1 Brazil: On August 11, 2012, the Olympic Games Final was played at Wembley. On that occasion, Mexico defeated Brazil in front of the 86,162 souls that were present at the venue, thanks to a double by Oribe Peralta; Hulk scored Brazil's only goal in the 90th minute.
Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich: The second Champions League final witnessed by Wembley was on May 25, 2013, with 86,298 spectators. That day, Bayern Munich took the lead thanks to Mario Mandžukić's goal in the 60th minute, and shortly after, in the 68th minute, Dortmund equalized with a penalty scored by İlkay Gündoğan. However, Arjen Robben appeared in the 88th minute to give the victory to the 'Bavarians' and with it, their fifth European Cup.
Italy 1 (3)-(2) 1 England: Wembley was also the home of the 2020 Eurocup, played one year later due to COVID-19. That match took place on July 11, 2021, in front of 67,173 people and ended 1-1 after the goals from Leonardo Bonucci and Luke Shaw. In the penalty shootout, the misses by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka gave Italy the victory.