UEFA EURO 2016: Italy team preview

The Italian national team often produce great results when no one expects it from them. In 2006, they won the World Cup amid Calciopoli – the scandal that resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B and stripped of their Serie A title.

At Euro 2012 they certainly weren’t regarded as one of the favourites yet managed to reach the final. Throughout the entire competition The Azzurri won only two matches in the regular 90 minutes and scored just five goals. But this was enough to take them to the final, and you might say they did it in true Italian style. Of course they lost to Spain in the deciding match, but considering they weren’t supposed to go that far, it can’t be regarded as a disaster, even though the score was 0-4.

Euro 2016 Squad (provisional 30 – 7 players to be cut)

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris).

Defenders: Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Davide Zappacosta (Torino).

Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus).

Forwards: Éder (Inter), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano Pellè (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus).

Conte left behind MLS players Sebastian Giovinco and veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

Key Player: Gianluigi Buffon

This goalkeeper is like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age. After the winter break, Juventus went on a run in Serie A where they kept 11 consecutive clean sheets at home – Buffon played in 10 of those. Moreover, during this period, Juve conceded only four away goals in the Italian league. Buffon played a big part in yet another title for Juventus this season and his experience/leadership could be invaluable for the Azzurri this summer.

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Qualifying

The Italians didn’t look overly impressive in the qualifying tournament, but this is something we’ve come to expect. They scraped past Azerbaijan at home, winning 2-1, where Giorgio Chiellini scored all three goals. The Nazionale also scored only two goals in two matches against Malta, which can’t be regarded as a good result either. Despite these minor complications they still made it to France in seemingly easy fashion, topping the group by four points.

Group Matches

Belgium v Italy – 13 June, 2016

Italy v Sweden – 17 June, 2016

Italy v Ireland – 22 June, 2016

Click here for the full Euro 2016 match schedule. 

Verdict

Losing Claudio Marchisio and Marco Veratti due to injuries is a major blow for the Azzurri. And they don’t have a clinical striker like Luca Toni these days and this could thwart their ability to break down the opponents’ defence. But, as usual, the Italians have one of the best defensive lines and one of the world’s greatest keepers. Will Italy win EURO 2016? Most unlikely, but they can definitely go deep into the tournament and should not be underestimated.

The Azzurri usually experience difficulties in the group stage, but generally get better as the tournament goes on, showing that famous Italian resolve. The new rules should make promotion to the last 16 much easier. There’s good value in backing Italy to reach the quarterfinals, and this should be regarded as their minimum target for the tournament.

If you want a riskier bet, Lorenzo Insigne to become the team’s top goalscorer looks a decent bet at 10/1. The agile Napoli player is coming off the back of the best season in his career, scoring 12 goals and claiming 10 assists in 34 Serie A appearances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXf4QJ9JITY