Turkey vs Italy Match Preview

Italy will play in the opening game of the European Championship 2020 at home and finally in front of the public. Of course the stadium will not be at full capacity, but around 20000 people will be in the Olimpico of Rome and offer their support for the Azzurri. They are the favorite team to not only qualify from this group but also grab the first place.

The other teams of the group are Turkey, Switzerland and Wales. Neither of them have what it takes to beat Italy in my opinion. Italy has not tasted defeat for 27 matches in a row and comes from a eight-game winning streak between Nations League, World Cup qualifiers and friendlies.

In goal they have Donnarumma while in defense is expected to play the duo Bonucci - Chiellini offering a solid back. The midfield is composed by young and quality players, Jorginho - Locatelli - Barella are expected to play from the start. Even in attack we should see some great players as the trio Insigne - Immobile - Chiesa should play.

Turkey, on the other side, has also got a decent team and they come after some good performances. They lost only one of the last ten matches but in the Nations League they did not do very well as they got relegated to League C.

In the World Cup qualifiers they started good with wins against direct rivals like Netherlands and Norway but then draw at home 3-3 against Latvia. In the three friendlies prior to EURO 2020 they got two wins and a draw but they faced weak teams like Azerbaijan, Moldova and Guinea.

Their strongest side is their defense as they focus mostly to remain solid on the back which is why they are expected to play with 5 midfielders here.

In conclusion, I think Italy can win this match. They are the better team and under Mancini they are really a different team from what they were a couple of years ago. They are hungry for redemption and have got to start strong here since they play at home in front of their crowd after almost two years.