Following a year-long delay, Euro 2020 finally gets under way on Friday, with Italy hosting Turkey in Rome in the much-anticipated curtain raiser.
Italy and Turkey have been drawn alongside Switzerland and Wales in Group A, with Roberto Mancini’s side the favourites to win the group.
🇮🇹 Italy's greatest EURO goal is ________ 🤔⚽️ @azzurri pic.twitter.com/Y2KmhUDrc3— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 7, 2021
🇮🇹 Italy's greatest EURO goal is ________ 🤔⚽️ @azzurri pic.twitter.com/Y2KmhUDrc3
Italy head into the European Championship on a remarkable 27-match unbeaten streak, dating all the way back to November 2018.
Since then, the Italians have recorded 22 wins and five draws and are currently enjoying an eight-game winning run.
It is also worth pointing out that Italy have kept a clean sheet in each of their previous eight victories, scoring a whopping 25 goals along the way.
In their two recent warm-up matches, Mancini’s men crushed San Marino 7-0 before beating the Czech Republic 4-0 last time out.
During that period, nine different players got on the scoresheet, including Ciro Immobile, who netted 25 goals in all competitions for Lazio last season.
Meanwhile, Turkey have also enjoyed a relatively positive run of results in the lead-up to the European Championship.
They have played three friendlies recently, picking up wins against Azerbaijan (2-1) and Moldova (2-0), as well as a goalless draw with Guinea.
Having enjoyed a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign earlier in the year, Turkey head into Euro 2020 on a six-match unbeaten streak (four wins, two draws).
That said, Turkey have not faced a team of Italy’s quality for quite some time, and they come into their tournament opener as underdogs.
Veteran striker Burak Yilmaz is undoubtedly Turkey’s “one to watch”. The 35-year-old bagged 16 goals in 28 games on his way to lifting the Ligue 1 trophy with Lille last term.
Head-to-head: Italy and Turkey have faced each other 11 times over the years, and the Italians remain unbeaten against the Turks (eight wins, three draws).
The last meeting between the two nations came all the way back in 2006, with the teams recording their second consecutive 1-1 draw on that occasion.
Team news: Mancini is likely to field a similar starting XI to the one that faced the Czechs last week, with Juventus duo Leandro Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini set to line up in the heart of Italy’s defence.
As for Turkey, Senol Gunes is expected to build his team around AC Milan attacking midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
Given that Friday’s clash is the opening match of the tournament, both sides are likely to approach the game with caution.
However, Forebet predicts that Italy’s class will shine through. Another clean-sheet victory is on the cards for Mancini’s men.