The national teams of Italy and Turkey started today the European Football Championship 2020 in Rome, with the tournament taking place a year later than scheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the opening match of the competition, at the Estadio Olimpico in Rome, which will have a limited capacity of 16,000 spectators due to the pandemic, Italy, led by Roberto Mancini, is experiencing a good moment and will seek to increase the number of matches with positive results.
After a qualifying round for the European Championship with 10 wins in 10 matches, Italy also went through a run of 27 games in a row unbeaten and eight in a row to win without conceding a goal.
Before the first match of Group A, which also includes Switzerland and Wales, the Italians will face Turkey, who finished the qualifying stage with second place in their group, behind France, the current world champion.
Despite finishing second, Turkey did not lose either of the two matches against France, with a home win (2-0) and an away draw (1-1). The Turkish national team, coached by Senol Gunes, has also not lost a match this year with four wins and two draws.
And in the last official match between the two teams, in the group stage of Euro 2000, Italy beat Turkey 2-1. After that, the two teams had already faced each other twice in private matches, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
In total, Italy and Turkey have met 10 times, with the Italians winning seven times, and three times ending in a draw, while the Turks are still looking for their first win.
The match between Italy and Turkey is scheduled to take place at 20:00 and will be moderated by Dutchman Danny McKelley.
Portugal, the cup winners, are part of Group F at Euro 2020, along with Hungary, Germany and France, having set their first participation in the competition on Tuesday, against Hungary, in Budapest.
