Italy held to 0-0 draw by Turkey in Euro 2024 warmup

BOLOGNA – Italy were “a bit clumsy and too frenetic” in a disappointing 0-0 draw against Turkey in a game of few chances on June 4, in what was the penultimate warmup match for both sides before Euro 2024 starts on June 14.

Luciano Spalletti's Italy go into the tournament as defending champions, and after failing to impress while qualifying, this draw with Turkey will do little to boost the confidence of their manager, or fans.

“We weren’t sharp or consistent, but in some moments the team pushed high and tried to do things, it’s the classic game at the start of the process,” he said.

“Maybe, I expected a bit more quality in the opponents’ half, without that quality everything becomes more difficult.”

Defender Gianluca Mancini, meanwhile, told RAI: “We had four days of intensive training to get as much done as possible, but in the first half we were a bit clumsy and too frenetic on the second ball.

“The second half was better, we need to rewatch it to see what we can do better. We sorted some things out during the break, with the wingers cutting inside or putting in cross-field passes to attack the box. Turkey were dangerous on the counter-attack and we were not sharp enough with our passing.”

Spalletti was without midfielder Nicolo Barella, out with a minor muscle strain, while striker Gianluca Scamacca also sat this one out having arrived at training only on Monday, with Mateo Retegui starting up front.

The opening half ended with neither side registering a shot on target, although Italy’s Bryan Cristante rattled the post with a header from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

After the break, there was little improvement. The lack of precision from both sides brought few real chances and little to cheer the home fans, apart from the late entrance of Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, 22, who made his Italy debut.

“You have to be able to change quickly, the team suffered a bit of fatigue, up front we weren’t brilliant, we tried to do something different but by then the game was over,” Spalletti said.

Turkey’s Italian coach Vincenzo Montella will be concerned over the condition of defender Ozan Kabak, who was taken off injured with what looked like a serious knee issue late in the first half.

Spalletti will name his official 26-man squad on June 6, after playing a training match with the Under-20 side on June 5, but this performance, while extending their unbeaten run to five games, will bring more questions than answers.

“It takes a while to get in place. There’s still tomorrow’s game to make choices, we take all the time we can,” the 65-year-old said.

“I’m satisfied because the game was real, intense, you go and get to know certain things.”

Turkey, after topping their qualification group with just one defeat, will be satisfied enough with the draw, against a side they have never beaten, having slumped to two losses in their March friendlies, including a 6-1 thumping by Austria.

Montella reserved praise for Juventus’ 19-year-old attacker Kenan Yildiz after his breakout season.

Said the former Italy striker: “He is a complete and modern footballer. Physically, I’ve noticed an improvement compared to September, when I gave him his debut.

“He wasn’t playing consistently at Juventus at that time. Now, he is even stronger physically, and he has room for improvement because he’s 18.

“He has a bright future ahead because he has an adequate mentality and hasn’t lost balance. It’s not easy at his age to deal with this sudden popularity.”

Italy's final warmup game before heading to Germany is against Bosnia on June 9, while Turkey travel to face Poland on June 10.

At Euro 2024, Italy will face Spain, Croatia and Albania in a tough Group B, and Turkey take on Georgia, Portugal and Czech Republic in Group F. REUTERS