Italy – Turkey. Match Preview and Prediction

June 4, 2024. 22:00. Bologna. ‘Renato Dall’Ara’

Italy

Luciano Spalletti asked the Italian Football Federation to arrange two very strong opponents before Euro 2024 – to test their real strength against them. FIGC managed to solve this task only halfway – the Federation agreed to play friendly matches with Turkey and Bosnia.

Anyway, the match against Turkey will not be a general rehearsal for the Euro group stage for the ‘Squadra Azzurra’, where Italy will have to face Albania, Spain, and Croatia. In this match, Spalletti will experiment with the lineup. The coach has yet to decide on three players to be excluded from the preliminary squad.

It is possible that among them will be someone whose presence in the game against Turkey Spalletti has already announced: ‘Vicario, Di Lorenzo, Orsolini, and Retegi will start, Calafiori will appear during the match’. Federico Gatti is not threatened with exclusion – the Juventus central defender arrived at the national team’s location after awful news about Giorgio Scalvini’s cruciate ligament injury from Atalanta. ‘Gatti will definitely go to Germany,’ said Spalletti.

Under the guidance of Vincenzo Montella, Turkey will start the preparatory microcycle for Euro 2024 with a match against Italy and will finish it with a meeting with Poland. The local Federation also tried to arrange suitable opponents for their national team for the general rehearsal matches of the group stage – Georgia, Portugal, and the Czech Republic are waiting for Turkey at Euro 2024. After these two matches with Italy and Poland, Montella will also have to finalize his squad – the Italian expert included 35 names in the preliminary squad. This means that on June 7, Vincenzo will have to disappoint nine of his wards! Unfortunately, Enes Unal and Caglar Soyuncu ‘failed’ the coach – they suffered serious injuries and will have to miss Euro 2024.

Montella ‘teased’ the Turks by talking about the pressure he is under: ‘Before such big tournaments like the European Championship, 85 million football coaches suddenly appear in the country. Believe me, I make fair and the best decision of all’.

Italy – Turkey: author’s prediction

Spalletti and Montella will use this friendly match to test their main reserves in action. Both coaches have to decide on who they exclude from the preliminary squads for Euro 2024. For many players from Italy and Turkey, this match could be decisive in their future careers. The result in this meeting is not crucial, but a positive outcome will be a pleasant bonus and will help avoid criticism in the media.

The match will be played in Bologna, and the Italian national team has only two players from the local team – Riccardo Calafiori and Riccardo Orsolini. The former will start on the bench, and the latter will be in the starting lineup. The winger must convince Spalletti of his necessity and usefulness. If he manages to demonstrate a good game, it can be concluded that the ticket to Germany will be in his pocket.