Elsewhere, Spain held reigning champions Portugal to a 0-0 draw. Italy recorded a 4-0 win over the Czech Republic in their second pre-Euro friendly, with Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne getting on the scoresheet.
One week before they kick off the tournament against Turkey, Italy took on the Czech Republic in a preparation match. Roberto Mancini had the full squad at his disposal for the game, with Jorginho and Emerson joining the camp after their Champions League heroics with Chelsea. Jorginho started and played a crucial role as the Azzurri thrashed the Czechs, 4-0.
Lazio hitman Ciro Immobile opened the scoring for Italy in the 22nd minute, as his deflected shot found the way past Jiri Pavlenka in the Czech goal. Serie A’s midfielder of the 2020/21 season, Nicolo Barella, doubled Azzurri’s lead shortly before half-time. Barella collected the ball from Jorginho in the middle, drove towards the goal, and fired a shot that lobbed over Pavlenka after yet another huge deflection.
Lorenzo Insigne capped off a brilliant team move to put Italy 3-0 up on the night. Immobile collected Manuel Locatelli’s lofted pass with his back towards the goal before playing an inch-perfect through ball to Insigne with the outside of his foot. The Napoli star collected the ball in his stride and picked his spot in the corner precisely. Insigne was instrumental in the Azzurri’s fourth -and final – goal of the night as well. The attacker threaded a pass to Domenico Berardi inside the penalty box, and the Sassuolo man calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper.
Spain’s draw against incumbent European champions Portugal wasn’t as exciting as Italy’s win over. Both teams cancelled each other out on the night that they presented a joint bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Former Chelsea and Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata had the game’s best chance in second-half stoppage time after a mistake allowed him a free run towards the Portuguese goal. However, he generated too much power with his shot, and it hit the crossbar instead.
Spain will take on Lithuania in their next friendly before their opening match of the Euro against Sweden. On the other hand, Portugal will play Israel in their preparation match before kicking off their title defence against Hungary.
