Sports Euro 2020: Italy a prime contender

Wakanda

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The 2020 European Championship is here and it comes promising to be an open tussle, with a few of the bigwigs already tipped favorites. Spain, England France, Portugal are all mentioned among the favorites but Italy features too as a dark horse as they mark a return to the big stage.

Italy missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia after a dismal showing in the qualifiers was finally ended by Sweden in the playoffs. They immediately went on a restructuring process and it has been an arduous journey this far but the fruits are there for all to see.

Unlike the football giants gracing Euro 2020, Gli Azzurri do not have superstars in their team but top players in every department and a side guided by the success that can only come from teamwork. Under the stewardship of Roberto Mancini, the Italian rebuild is a well thought and guided project.

They are a perfect mix of youth and experience, and their run of 10 wins in 10 matches in the qualifiers says all about their abilities coming to Euro 2020. Italy under Mancini has lost just twice in 32 matches and kept 20 clean sheets. The team goes to this tournament not featuring among the favorites but with the best run of form.

It will be a big shocker, if Italy fail to make it out of Group A. Theirs will be the first game of the competition on June 11 and in their clash with Turkey, they are outright favorites as depicted by bookmakers, going by the form they carry to the game. Among these bookmakers, 888Sport are backing an Italy win at 1.533 and the site, reviewed on Wincomparator, has a ready 888Sport sign up offer review of up to £30 for new users.

In two pre tournament warm up matches, Italy continued with their great run of form, scoring 11 goals and conceding none. They have a great balance in defence and attack, which sees them go to this game on eight straight wins without conceding a goal, and in the meantime scoring at least two goals.

The Italians are unbeaten in 27 matches ahead of their opening game against Turkey. That run is enough to give them the needed swing in terms of confidence, as they seek their second European title. They will definitely be the headline team in a group that has Switzerland, Turkey and Wales.

Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Lorenzo Insigne and Salvatore Sirigu represent the old guard at the team but one player who is set to shoulder the burden in attack for Italy is Ciro Immobile. He remains a serial poacher and symbol of the team’s past successes ushering in the new blood.

In the last two seasons, Immobile has scored 56 goals in Serie A and in the last four international matches he has netted three goals. He will be brimming with confidence going to the tournament, and especially after grabbing the opening goal against Czech Republic in their final warm up gam
 
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