Euro 2021 kicks off tonight at 11 p.m. with a tempting Italy v Turkey as the opening match. Postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Euro 2020 (call it Euro 2021 …) will ultimately only take place in eleven countries (1), instead of the planned twelve. UEFA, for whom the financial stakes are enormous, absolutely did not want to hear about another postponement.
Both teams want to start Euro 2021 in the best possible way. Italy is playing at home, with the supporters returning.Turkey managed to qualify for this European Championship by finishing second in their group, dominated by France. During their qualifying run, the Turks notably remained unbeaten against the French world champions (2-0 victory in the first leg and a 1-1 draw in the return). Turkey can count on a promising young defender, in the person of Ozan Kabak (21). Promising? Perhaps not enough for Liverpool, where he played on loan in the second half of the season, but was not good enough to get a permanent position. Kabak has a huge stage to prove.
By not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, Italy has recovered to the point of being among the favorites for the title. Indeed, Squadra Azzurra have been perfect in the qualifiers for the European Championship, winning all their matches. The Italians dominated their League of Nations group ahead of the Netherlands, Bosnia and Poland, and therefore qualified for Final 4. It should be noted that two players from PSG, Florenzi and Verratti appear in the Squadra Azzurra for this Euro.
Possible line up
Turquie : Uğurcan Çakır; Zeki Çelik, Merih Demiral, Çağlar Söyüncü, Umut Meraş; Okay Yokuşlu, Ozan Tufan, Hakan Çalhanoğlu; Cengiz Ünder, Kenan, Burak Yılmaz
Italie : Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli; Berardi, Immobile, Insigne
The trainers
Şenol Güneş, Turkey
It is important not to lose the opening game. A draw or a win and the group will be wide open. I want to see our strength during this first meeting. Even if you lose, it is important to play well. Playing the EURO is a success, but we cannot stop there!
Roberto Mancini, Italy
After everything we have been through, now is the time to put a smile on everyone’s face; we want people to have fun and have fun. The opening game is always the toughest, but we must focus on the job at hand and have fun.
