Italy
Italy started the Euro 2020 tournament strongly: convincingly defeating Turkey (3:0) and Switzerland (3:0), and given their performance, an even greater advantage for the Italian team wouldn't have been surprising. The Italians are showing truly impressive form – unbeaten in 29 consecutive matches across various international tournaments. Out of those 29 unbeaten matches, 24 were victories and only 5 draws, with the last loss occurring against Portugal in 2018.
The Italian team did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup, so a good performance in this championship would bring positivity to both the team and its fans. And indeed, so far, there is no shortage of positivity – evaluating the first 2 rounds, the Italian team looks like one of the most realistic contenders to win the entire championship.
The main advantage of the Italian team is speed and technical skill. The Italians make excellent use of every chance to launch a quick attack, and in positional attacks, they manage to find open spaces for passes and create scoring opportunities. Each player understands their role perfectly, and overall, the team's cohesion on the field currently looks the best compared to other favorites to win the tournament. It's hard to say whether this is just a result of a relatively easier group or if the Italians are genuinely very serious this year, but watching this team is becoming increasingly interesting.
Wales
The Welsh team is currently in 2nd place in the group with 4 points. This number of points practically guarantees a place in the next stage, but to be sure of 2nd place, at least a draw with Italy would be very helpful. The Welsh team drew 1:1 in the opening match with the Swiss team, which was considered a favorite, and in the next match, they won 2:0 against the Turkish team, which failed to capitalize on its opportunities and continues to look disappointing in this tournament.
The leader of the Welsh team, G. Bale, missed an 11-meter penalty in the match against Turkey, but evaluating his performance, it is clear that he is the player who has the most significant impact on the team's results. Another player who assisted the team leader well in the match against Turkey was A. Ramsey, who has also made a name for himself in Europe. Their duo largely contributed to Wales' successful performance in the second round of the group stage.
Predicted starting line-ups:
Italy:
Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Acerbi, Emerson; Verratti, Cristante, Barella; Bernardeschi, Belotti, Chiesa;
Wales:
Ward; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Gunter, Williams; Morrell, Allen, Bale, Wilson, James.
Prediction
These teams have played against each other 9 times, and none of the matches ended in a draw – the Italian team won 7 times, and Wales 2. The Italians have not only won 10 matches in a row, but all of them were won with a clean sheet, not conceding a single goal. Due to the excellent Italian defense and fast, dynamic, and coordinated attack, it is hard to expect that the Welsh team will manage to secure at least a draw in this match. The Italian team is the favorite, and it is likely to justify this status with a 2-0 victory.
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