Thirty years after the wild emotion of Italia ’90, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome tonight, Ciro Immobile echoed Totò Schillaci, Lorenzo Insigne looked like Roberto Baggio and Italy had another “Notte Magica”. The Azzurri took their first three points of a tournament, in which they hope to be in amongst the top sides. Italy confirmed that they have the capacity to go far and even the 3-0 final score against Turkey might be a little deceptive; it really could’ve been more. There certainly wasn’t much wrong with the performance. The numbers are extremely telling; ninth win on the bounce, ninth game without conceding and 28 games without a loss (23 wins and five draws) - just two away from the record side by Vittorio Pozzo’s side. It would have been wrong to underestimate Turkey, who in recent months have beaten reigning world champions France and the Netherlands. But, simply put, it just was not a contest tonight.

THE GAME. Mancini named an unchanged starting eleven from last week’s friendly against the Czech Republic. Ahead of Donnarumma were Bonucci and Chiellini in the centre of defence; Florenzo and Spinazzola were the starting full-backs. Verratti is still out, so Jorginho and Locatelli were given the task of playing in that deep-lying playmaker role, while Barella pushed forward to support an attacking trio formed of Berardi, Immobile and Insigne.
Italy were facing what was largely agreed upon to be the most difficult opponent of the group. Turkey had beaten France in qualifying and the Netherlands three months ago in World Cup qualification. They are a tricky team with plenty of technique and unpredictability; Yazici and AC Milan’s Calhanoglu can also provide plenty of individual ability. The main danger was in the form of Burak Yilmaz, who is Turkey’s second-highest goalscorer of all time after Hakan Sukur and had a brilliant campaign in club football this season, scoring 16 goals in Lille’s surprise Ligue 1 title charge.

The story of the match was laid out very soon. Italy were well in charge from the off, while Turkey sat deep in their 4-1-4-1 formation, looking to hurt the Azzurri on the break. The first effort came in the second minute; Immobile fired into the side-netting following Berardi’s cut-back. But it wasn’t easy for the Azzurri to find the space because Gunes’ side were not to be exposed and, even while in possession, favoured safe passing rather than trying to find Yilmaz. In the 17th minute, Insigne, after a brilliant one-two with Berardi, only had to slot it home to make it 1-0 but the Napoli forward sent his effort well wide. Immobile also had a go but saw his attempt hit Soyuncu, while Chiellini was then denied by a fingertip save from Cakir following an Italy corner.

The Azzurri were bossing proceedings and, as if often said in such situations, just missing a goal. On the half-hour mark, Immobile headed off target in front of the Curva Nord. While fans at that end of the ground usually cheer him on, this evening Turkish fans painted it red. Turkey finally gave Italy something to think about towards the end of the half, when Donnarumma punched away Yilmaz’s ball across the box, while there was then a controversial incident in the 44th minute: Spinazzola’s cross hit Celik’s arm, but the match officials didn’t intervene. The teams headed into the break on level terms, a scoreline which wasn’t a fair reflection of what had happened on the pitch.

The second half began with a change for each side: former Roma player Under came on for Yazici, while Di Lorenzo took Florenzi’s place. Finally, Italy broke through in the 53rd minute: Berardi broke free down the right and played in a cross that Demiral sent into his own net. With the wind now in their sails, the Azzurri continued to lay siege on the Turkey goal. As for the Turks, they’d been put in a position where they had to come out of their shell, and Spinazzola was ready to take advantage. Cakir saved a shot from the Roma man, while Insigne then failed to fully take advantage of a counter that had been orchestrated by Immobile. Shortly afterwards, Locatelli called Cakir into action from the edge of the area. The Italian midfielder was putting in an impressive performance, with Insigne and Spinazzola also causing chaos down the left.

Gunes tried to shake things up by bringing on Ayhan and Kahveci for Tufan and Yokuslu, but Italy doubled their advantage after 66 minutes, when, after a lovely team move, Cakir saved Spinazzola’s powerful shot at goal and Ciro Immobile converted the rebound, scoring his 14th National Team goal in the process. Ten minutes later, Mancini’s men put the game to bed for good: Immobile picked out Insigne, who beautifully stroked the ball into the far corner to make it three. The Italian fans at the Olimpico were ecstatic, and the national anthem could be heard throughout the final few minutes. Locatelli was applauded off the pitch, while Immobile and Insigne made way for Belotti and Chiesa with the Azzurri’s two upcoming matches against Switzerland and Wales in mind. In the last five minutes, Bernardeschi replaced Berardi, who was limping somewhat. Everybody will be needed on this journey, although the road to Wembley is still long. We can, however, dream.

Itinerary (all times CEST) 

Saturday 12 June
*17:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

Sunday 13 June
** 14:00 – Players meet media
*17:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

Monday 14 June
** 14:00 – Players meet media
*17:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

Tuesday 15 June
11:00 – Transfer Florence-Rome
**16:45 – Press conference, Coach + 1 player at Hotel Parco dei Principi
*19:15 – Training at the Olympic Center Giulio Onesti (behind closed doors except first 15 mins)

Wednesday 16 June
21:00 – Italy vs. Switzerland at the Stadio Olimpico. Press conference/media duties after full-time. 

Thursday 17 June
*17:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

Friday 18 June
** 14:00 – Players meet media
*17:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

Saturday 19 June
11:00 – Transfer Florence-Rome
**16:45 – Press conference, Coach + 1 player at Hotel Parco dei Principi
*19:15 – Training at the Olympic Center Giulio Onesti (behind closed doors except for first 15 mins)

Sunday 20 June
18:00 – Italy vs. Wales at the Stadio Olimpico. Press conference/media duties after full-time. 

N.B. Timetables are subject to possible change
* photos will be taken and shared by FIGC 
**media access will be limited to reduced numbers