Turkey vs Italy Preview

The curtain raiser of the long-awaited Euro 2020 comes up this Friday as Italy play host to Turkey in the first match of the group stages of the 2021 European Championship.

Italy are appearing in their 10th ever European Championship are one of the favourites for this tournament. They will look to begin on a high note when they host Turkey at the familiar Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

After missing out on the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Roberto Mancini’s side are looking for redemption and views this tournament as an opportunity to show how far they have come since 2018.

They head into this tie unbeaten in 27 games and on a run of eight games without conceding a goal. Such form has made them early favourites for the trophy as they aim to win their first Euro since 1968.

Meanwhile, their opponents Turkey enter this tie unbeaten in six games but with just one clean sheet from their last ten games.

Senol Gunes’ side are making just their fifth appearance in the European Championship and they will look to begin brightly to afford them a chance of making it to the next round for just the third time in their history.

Their chances against the Italians who they have never beaten in ten tries (L7, D3) are small. However, they will take courage in the fact that they have only failed to score twice in their last ten games.