Italy vs Turkey Preview

2020 Euro champions Italy will look to get their final preparations for this year’s European Championship off to a winning start when they welcome Turkey to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara this Tuesday.

The Azzurri won the last edition of the European Championship. Still, manager Luciano Spalletti insists that the defending champions are not favourites to reclaim the trophy they won at Wembley three years ago at the expense of England. The former Napoli manager, who took the reins in September, says other nations are capable of playing to a “higher level” than his side at present, who will attempt to win the tournament for a record-equaling third time.

A pair of warm-up matches is, therefore, vital in helping the squad gel together. The first of those is against Turkey, a team the Azzurri will be desperate to win against and extend a run of four games without defeat (W3, D1). The omens are in their favour as Italy have not lost a home friendly since September 2016, going unbeaten across seven outings since then (W4, D3), whilst keeping a clean sheet in each victory.

Meanwhile, Turkey look like one of the teams to watch out for in this year’s European Championship after finishing top of their qualifier group ahead of Croatia, recording just one loss in the process.

But they may head to Bologna with a sense of trepidation, given that they remain winless across their previous 13 H2Hs (D3, L10), most recently suffering a 3-2 reversal in March 2022. That does not bode well for a team that was battered 6-1 by Austria in their last match, which led to calls for manager Vincenzo Montella to stand down ahead of Euro 2024.

Montella has refused to walk away, stating that questions over his future were an “unnecessary provocation.” However, he will be all too aware that speculation will continue to mount if the Crescent Stars do not quickly improve their form after losing three of their last seven outings (W3, D1).