Italy 3-0 Switzerland
Forza Italia! Manuel Locatelli is the new darling of Italian football after his double sealed the Azzurri’s place in the last 16 of Euro 2020.
In fact, the only downside on a largely positive night for Roberto Mancini’s men inside the Stadio Olimpico was the sight of Giorgio Chiellini leaving the fray with a suspected hamstring injury midway through the first half.
If his absence stretches beyond a week, it could crucially undermine Italy’s bd for Euro glory.
For now, though, their fans are lapping up an array of Euro 2020 highlights.
Highlights of the game
World champions in 2006, European Championship runners up either side in 2000 and 2012, Italian strength at major competitions has been a universal rule for most of my lifetime.
From Paolo Rossi and Salvatore Schillaci to Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon. they produced true superstars I fondly remembered as I was growing up.
Then it seemed Italian football became trapped and, in Russia three years ago, a first World Cup spent watching from the outside in 60 years.
After Giampiero Ventura was fired, Luigi di Biagio stepped up from the under-21s in a prolonged caretaker role and half the squad announced their international retirement.
Mancini took the reins just over three years ago and started calling up players left, right and centre, some of whom had hardly played a single top-flight game for their club.
This Big Bang Theory started to work.
If you don’t believe me, look at the SBOTOP Euro 2020 betting odds.
They opened the tournament in style on Friday night and showed a glimpse of their full potential in a dominant second-half showing to see off Turkey.
After this latest triumph, home comforts and optimism abounds in the Eternal City and Italy have scored 31 goals and conceded none in their last 10 matches.
From fairly early on against the Swiss, they took control with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile on familiar turf – he has netted 93 goals in his last 120 appearances at the Stadio Olimpico since moving to Lazio in 2016 – heading over.
Chiellini had the ball in the net shortly afterwards only for VAR to intervene for a handball. He may not have survived too much longer before injury struck but Switzerland did not survive for much longer either as Locatelli played a fine ball to Domenico Berardi who surged forward past his man and pulled a low cross back for Locatelli to finish.
Seven minutes after the restart and his dream night got even better as he rifled the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Switzerland had drawn each of their last four games at European Championships – no nation has ever drawn five games in a row in the competition – but rarely looked like reducing the arrears.
There was even time for the Sassuolo man to receive a standing ovation before Immobile got the goal he craved a minute from time, his low shot beating Yann Sommer despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.
With a work ethic, organisation and relentless press, the Italian national side is making Europe sit up and take notice once again. Forza Italia!
Key Statistics
Locatelli is the third Italian to score a brace at the Euros after Mario Balotelli v Germany in 2012 and Pierluigi Casiraghi against Russia in 1996.
Immobile has been involved in 13 goals in his last 11 starts with Italy (eight goals, five assists).
Mancini’s side are now unbeaten in 29 internationals (won 24, drawn five) since going down 1-0 to Portugal in Lisbon in the Nations League in September 2018.
They haven’t conceded since a Donny van de Beek goal for the Netherlands last October.
The Italians have won both of their opening two matches in just two of their nine previous appearances at European Championships, doing so in 2000 and 2016.
This was Italy’s first win against the Swiss since a friendly in April 2003.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has not missed an international for over three years, since a friendly against Spain in June 2018. In that time, he has run up 35 successive appearances, the first 30 all in the starting XI.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petković knows the Olimpico in Rome well, having been in charge of Lazio between 2012 and 2014, winning the Coppa Italia in 2012/13.
What’s next?
Italy conclude their Group A schedule at home to Wales on Sunday teatime (June 20). At the same time, Switzerland meet Turkey in Baku.
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