Italy has just been held to a draw by Turkey in an international friendly match. This shows that the reigning champion of Euro has reduced its influence compared to before. Despite not reaching their peak form, they are “capable” of defeating an underdog Bosnia and Herzegovina. Italy will enter this final friendly match before officially entering the Euro 2024 finals.
Expert’s opinion
Italy is the reigning champion of Euro in the last season. However, they have struggled in the current season. In the qualifiers, they only had 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, with a total of 14 points and a goal difference of 16-9, securing the second position in Group C. They were defeated by the group leader England in both matches but managed to win against the competing team Ukraine 2-1 at home. Due to the lack of prolific strikers, the “Azzurri” cannot execute a perfect attacking strategy. This was even more evident in the friendly match against Turkey. Despite playing at home, the Italian national team failed to score any goals. They launched numerous attacks but most of them missed the target. With this performance, fans are quite concerned about the reigning champion before the Euro 2024.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a match for Italy. Even though the reigning champion’s form has declined, they are still superior to the relatively unknown team like Bosnia and Herzegovina. This team also participated in the European Championship, but currently, they do not have any remarkable achievements. Although they are not significant on the European football map, they have made significant progress compared to their past. Previously, they were ranked 173rd in the FIFA rankings, but now they have climbed to the 62nd position. Bosnia and Herzegovina recently had a friendly match with England. As predicted by the fans, they were defeated by the “Three Lions” with a score of 3-0. Against a team with a good record in the Euro 2024 qualifiers like England, both the attack and defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina were almost paralyzed, allowing the “Three Lions” to dominate the game.
Match odds
In their last 5 matches, Azzurri drew 2 and won 3. They scored 9 goals and conceded 3 times. Italy being held to a draw by Turkey in a friendly match does not reveal much as it is highly likely that Coach Spalletti is still hiding his tactics. On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina lost all 5 recent matches. They only scored 3 goals while conceding 16 times. This shows that both their attack and defense have issues. Facing Italy this time, Bosnia and Herzegovina has little chance of winning, mainly for gaining experience and learning. Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina have faced each other 4 times, with Azzurri winning 3 times against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina only managed to draw with Italy once, with a score of 1-1. Clearly, the head-to-head history is favoring Italy.
Team news
Italy: Missing midfielder Manuel Locatelli and defender Giorgio Scalvini Bosnia and Herzegovina: Full squad
Predicted lineups
Italy: Vicario, Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Dimarco, Jorginho, Cristante, Orsolini, Pellegrini, Chiesa, Retegui. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vasilj, Ahmedhodzic, Hadzikadunic, Mujakic, Gazibegovic, Krunic, Tahirovic, Omerovic, Hajradinovic, Demirovic, Dzeko. Predicted score: Italy 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina. Asian handicap: Italy (-1.5) FT. Over/Under odds: Under (2.5) FT.
