Italy EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 29 Feb 2020 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 4 minutes

The Italian national team is full of hopes for the upcoming European Football Championship. The Azzurras missed the last major international tournament, the 2018 World Cup, after which they looked resurrected in European qualifications under the guidance of Roberto Mancini. The team will expect a strong performance of Euro 2020 and definitely, the Italians have a strong team that will strive to reach the final stages of the tournament. Italy is also hosting the tournament and the group stage matches against Wales, Switzerland, and Turkey will be played at the Stadio Olimpico.

Check out our preview of Italy at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from Squadra Azzurra.

Italy European Championships - History and successes

Italy has one European Finals title, which was won in 1968 at home. The Azzurri finished as silver medalists in the 2000 tournament in Belgium and the Netherlands and in 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. The team also has fourth place in 1980, when it also hosted the largest international football tournament in Europe. At the last European Championship, the Italian team reached the 1/4-finals, where they were eliminated from Germany after a penalty shootout.

The Road to Euro 2020

The Italian team is ranked first in the J qualifying group, winning a direct visa for Euro 2020. The Roberto Mancini-led team recorded 10 wins in 10 matches and left no chances for its opponents in the group, which were Finland, Bosnia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, and Greece. The Italians scored 37 goals - an average of 3.7 per game in the qualifying group. Andrea Belotti with 4 goals was the most efficient for the team, while Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Lorenzo Insigne, and Ciro Immobile had 3 goals each. The most convincing success of Squadra Azzurra was 9:1 against Armenia in the last round when the Manchini players simply humiliated their opponent.

Euro 2020 fixtures

Italy is in Group A of Euro 2020 with the teams of Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales.

• June 11, 9:00 pm: Turkey - Italy / Stadio Olimpico, Rome /
• June 16, 9:00 pm: Italy - Switzerland / Stadio Olimpico, Rome /
• June 20, 6:00 pm: Italy - Wales / Stadio Olimpico, Rome /

Italy squad for the European Football Championship 2020

Italy has a lot of young and talented players, but it also has experienced players. Much to be expected from striker Ciro Immobile, who plays very strongly in Serie A for Lazio. In addition, the Azzurri have players like Lorenzo Insigne, Andrea Belotti, Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernadeschi. Jorginho and Marco Veratti should be the engines of the team in the middle of the pitch. Alongside them, young Nicolo Barella and Nicolo Zaniolo will try to make a strong impression, with young players such as Sandro Tonali and Stefano Sensi in the lineup. The team has experienced defensive players like Francesco Acerbi and the captain Leonardo Bonucci, who will be at the heart of the defense, while Emerson, Cristiano Biraghi, and Alessio Romagnoli will also claim a place among the start eleven.

Goalkeepers: Salvatore Sirigu (Torino), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli)
Defenders: Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Bastoni (Internazionale), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)
Midfielders: Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain), Nicolo Barella (Internazionale), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Stefano Sensi (Internazionale)
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo)

Source: www.zimbio.com

The Big Star: Marco Verratti

Marco Veratti is the biggest star in Italy. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder will play a huge role in Italy's Euro 2020 squad. The 27-year-old has 36 national team games and 3 goals. Roberto Mancini will rely on Marco Veratti to move the midfield game and create goal positions. He is playing this role in PSG in an excellent way and will have to contribute to Italy for a strong Euro 2020 performance.

Expectations for Italy at Euro 2020

We expect the Italian team to come out of their Euro 2020 group without any problems. The Italians will play at home so they have no excuses and are quite likely to win first place. This could give them a good position for the direct eliminations. We think Squadra Azzurra has a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the race. From there the opponents are getting very tough and with luck, Italy can progress even further. Our prediction is that Mancini's eleven will not reach the Euro 2020 semifinals.

Odds for Italy

The online bookmakers see Italy as a favorite in their group and maybe they are correct, but everything is possible in such big tournaments. We think that Italy and on of the other three teams (Switzerland, Turkey, and Wales) will go through the 1/8 finals. But we don't put Italy in the top 5 favorites for winning the European title in 2020. Here are the current odds for the Squadra Azzurra:

To win Euro 2020	12.00
To win Group A	1.57