Italy vs Wales: Who will seal top spot in Group A?
A coveted top spot in Group A awaits as Italy welcome Wales for the final matchday of their Euro 2020 group stage campaign. As it stands, the Azzurri are already through to the round of 16, while Wales are on the cusp of securing passage as well. Italy come into this match having earned six points, thanks to two stunning 3-0 wins over Turkey and Switzerland. They’re now 29 matches unbeaten across all comps, since falling 1-0 to Portugal in September 2018, and are just one match shy of matching a record set in the 1930’s, when they went 30 unbeaten from November 1935 to July 1939.
Italy come into this game having cruised to a win over Switzerland, with Manuel Locatelli setting a new record by grabbing a brace. The Sassuolo midfielder, who’s reportedly a target for bigger teams like Juventus and Arsenal, is now the youngest Italian international to achieve this feat since Mario Balotelli did so in 2012.
Under Roberto Mancini’s leadership, Italy have won 24 of their past 29 games. Some detractors point out the strength of some of the teams the Azzurri faced leaves something to be desired, but as we’ve seen in football, even a “weaker” team can cause powerhouse sides trouble. Just look at the case of Germany, who suffered an embarrassing loss to lowly North Macedonia, but the same die Mannschaft did reassert themselves as they just beat Portugal 4-2 at this tournament to announce that they weren’t done and dusted. Thus, there’s no indication that Italy won’t be able to up their game when presented with trickier opposition, and the first challenge certainly will be Wales.
Although Wales started off their tournament on wobbly footing with a frustrating draw to Switzerland, the Dragons came roaring back on matchday two, with two goals from Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts enough to dispatch Turkey. Gareth Bale may have totally fluffed his lines as he missed a spot-kick, but Wales’s all-time top goal scorer made some amends by being directly involved in both goals, and he’ll hope to prove to be as equally decisive in this crunch clash.
Wales will need it. To date, they’ve never won a match on Italian soil, losing all three of their prior encounters while conceding 11 goals – and scoring none. In addition, the Dragons have won just two of their last nine meetings with Italy, losing the other seven. It will be interesting to see if that changes – as there have been no draws from this match-up in the past.
Both managers will likely rotate their squads. Italy will have to make do without skipper Giorgio Chiellini after the veteran was subbed off during the Switzerland match with what seems like a muscular issue. However, Marco Verratti is back in action after featuring in a midweek friendly, so the PSG man may be given some vital minutes to get him up to speed. Additional players who could make an appearance include Andrea Belotti, Federico Chiesa, and Federico Bernadeschi, which could see Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne, and Domenico Berardi given rest to keep them fresh ahead of the round of 16. Wales, meanwhile, may decide to tinker with their formation, with Rob Page possibly moving to a five-at-the-back option. Up front, Cardiff City’s Kieffer Moore may be given a break to rotate in Liverpool’s Harry Wilson.
Finally, there could be some interesting records broken during Italy vs Wales. Gianluigi Donnarumma, who just secured a big-money move to PSG, has maintained two clean sheets; if he shuts Wales out, he’ll become the youngest shot-stopper to achieve this feat.
A coveted claim to Group A is on the line as Italy take on Wales. Who’ll come out on top?
