Italy Start Euro 2020 With Victory Over Turkey

Italy has begun its first major international tournament (Euro 2020) in five years with a convincing 3-0 win over Turkey.

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.

Demiral redirected a cross from Domenico Berardi into his own net after attempting to intercept the pass.

Italy dominated from the start but was denied in the first half by a superb save from Çakır and a decision by the referee not to award a penalty for an apparent handball.

The victory extended Italy's unbeaten run to 28 matches and boosted the 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,” Roberto Mancini said.

Italy, which won its only European title in 1968, had never before scored more than two goals at the European Championship, according to UEFA.

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Wales and Switzerland, the other teams in Group A, will play in Baku, Azerbaijan, overnight.

This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago

Efe Bridget is a writer at GoalBall. She is a graduate of Mass Communication with 12 years of experience working with reputable publications.