Italy defeated Turkey 3-0 to kick off Euro 2020.

Rome: Italy waited a long time for this European Championship to begin, and then showed how eager the team was to play the tournament opener on Friday.

After being humiliated by their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Italy was already back on track with a perfect qualifying campaign of ten wins in ten matches. Now, with a 3-0 win over Turkey, Roberto Mancini’s team has begun its first major international tournament in five years.

“It was important to start well and it’s satisfying for us, for the crowd and for all Italians,” Mancini said. “It was a wonderful evening and I hope there will be many more.”

Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne both scored after an own-goal from Turkey defender Merih Demiral had given Italy the lead — all in the second half.

After attempting to intercept the pass, Demiral redirected a cross from Domenico Berardi into his own net. On another play started by Berardi, Immobile poked in a rebound of a shot from Leonardo Spinazzola, and Insigne later curled one in after a failed clearance by Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan cakir.

Immobile thanked his “mamma” for giving him “the sense of being in the right place at the right time” for his goal, while Insigne said the team’s unity was its most valuable asset.

“The coach has created a great group in which there are no starters and bench players and each one of us is always ready to sacrifice for our teammates,” Insigne said. “Winning is the most important thing – if I score, even better. It was a great night.”

Italy dominated from the start, but was denied in the first half by a superb save from akir and the referee’s decision not to award a penalty for an apparent handball.
The win extended Italy’s unbeaten streak to 28 games and elevated Azzurri’s status as a title contender.

“We played a great match and we didn’t permit Turkey to play, and they are not a weak side,” Mancini said.

According to UEFA, Italy, which won its only European title in 1968, had never scored more than two goals in a European Championship before.
“Games aren’t won by chance, they’re won by strategy.” “Mancini explained. “We’ve come a long way, but there’s still room for improvement.”
Because of the pandemic, the tournament, which is still known as Euro 2020, began a year late.

Because of coronavirus precautions, the Stadio Olimpico remained only 25% full, and fans sat in small groups safely separated from one another. Nonetheless, the crowd of about 16,000 was the largest in Italy since the pandemic began.

“With people around us in the stands, it’s a whole different style of soccer,” said veteran Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci. “They help us keep our hearts in it throughout the match.”

Wales and Switzerland, the other teams in Group A, will play on Saturday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Italy appeared fired up from the start and dominated possession, while Turkey sat back and waited for rare counterattacks.
Italy had 13 attempts in the first half alone, while Turkey had none. By the end, Italy had 24 attempts and Turkey had three — none of which were on goal.

“It was not our day. We started to lose the ball and couldn’t get forward,” Turkey coach Senol Günes said. “Italy were better. We lost to the better team.”

Cakir made an acrobatic save to deny Giorgio Chiellini midway through the first half. The Italy captain was unmarked on a corner and directed a header toward goal before akir leaped up, extended his right arm high into the air, and pushed the ball over the bar with his fingertips.
Italy protested vehemently for two handballs during the game, but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie ruled that the game could continue.
Initially, Immobile’s shot appeared to be deflected by a defender’s arm. Then Turkey’s Zeki elik reached out his hand and deflected Spinazzola’s cross.

After making contact with the ball, elik appeared to feel guilty, quickly pulling his arm behind his body. A VAR review was conducted a few moments later, but the decision to continue playing was upheld.

“I haven’t re-watched it yet so I really can’t comment,” Mancini said. “We couldn’t really see what happened from the bench.”
In the next set of group matches, Italy stays in Rome to play Switzerland while Turkey travels to Baku to play Wales.