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The 16th edition of UEFA European Championship will commence on Friday, 11th June, with a Group A match between Italy and Turkey. This match will be held at the den of Gli Azzurri, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Approximately 15,000 people will be present in the stadium to cheer for their team, as football will serve as the single uniting factor for various nations across Europe. Italy will be seen playing in a major competition after five years.
If the last image you have of the Blues is that of the Azzurris missing out on a 2018 FIFA World Cup place after a horrendous run in the qualifiers, the following few statistics might catch you by surprise.
Roberto Mancini’s men have not lost any of their last 27 matches, and they won all of their 10 matches in the qualifying stage of this competition. The country’s capital, Rome was not built in a day, and Roberto Mancini has taken around three years to prepare for this competition and make Italy the dominant force they are looking today.
That being said, time will tell whether Mancini’s facades will resemble the erstwhile grandeur of Italian football, or whether they will falter when stakes are high. Senol Gunes and his Turkish team will certainly prefer the latter.
Like Italy, they too had a good qualification campaign. Turkey were placed in Group H of the qualification phase, alongside defending World Cup winners France. They won seven and lost only one of their 10 qualification matches, defeating France in the process. They finished second in the group, only two points off Les Bleus.
While they don’t boast of a lot of wins in recent times, the Crescent-Stars have won only two of their last fourteen games, drawing seven games, which speaks volume about the resilience Italy can expect in today’s match.
Key Players
Nicolo Barella: Nicolo Barella made his senior debut for the Blues when Italy was going through one of their most vulnerable periods. His personal development was perfectly synchronized with the renaissance of Italian football. Now at 24, Barella finds himself at the heart of the team, responsible for their control and dominance in the midfield. The Inter Milan midfielder won his first honour with the club recently, in the form of Serie A. His aim will now be to lift his first trophy for his country.
Ciro Immobile: Goal-scoring was an aspect Italy struggled with during their rough phase, but while youngsters like Barella took care of the midfield, it was a veteran in Ciro Immobile who emerged as the nation’s prime goal-scoring threat. He scored just two goals in 15 appearances from 2017 to 2018, but the Lazio forward has seemingly found his goal-scoring boots yet again. The 31-year-old has scored three goals in his last four appearances for the country.
Burak Yilmaz: Besides life, death and taxes, there was another thing which became a ‘certainty’ since the last few years – Paris Saint-Germain winning the Ligue 1. This was true until a certain Turkish goal-scorer arrived in Northern France. While Immobile will lead the lines for Italy, it will be Burak Yilmaz who will be entrusted with the task of scoring goals for Turkey in this competition. The Lille player played a big role behind his team’s Ligue 1 triumph, scoring 16 goals in 28 appearances. Familiar with the underdog’s fairytale narrative, Yilmaz will be aiming to script a similar story at the Euro 2020.
Caglar Soyuncu: Usually, the Italians are the ones who receive praises and accolades for their stern and resolute defence. But the opposition camp has also been rock-solid at the back in recent times, keeping a clean sheet in three of their last five games. Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu is the leader of that defensive unit. Having successfully kept Erling Haaland quiet not very long ago, his job will now be to keep every Italian attack at bay.
Prediction
It will be foolish to take Turkey lightly, and Roberto Mancini would certainly be aware of it. They have restricted formidable teams to a draw in recent times, and have also pulled off a few surprising victories.
All of that being said, Mancini’s men are looking well-drilled ahead of this competition. Every player seems to know what is expected of him, and as is the case often with Italy, they are playing more as a team and less as individuals.
Considering these factors, Italy are likely to take all the three points from today’s match. As for how the match might play out, both teams will be heavily reliant on their impressive defensive organization.
Italy conceded just four goals in their 10 matches in the qualifiers, while despite being placed in a group with France, Turkey conceded only 3 goals. Hence, too many goals might not be in the cards for this match.
