Italy made history on Sunday as they extended their unbeaten record with a 1-0 win over Wales, while Switzerland outclassed Turkey to keep their hopes of making it to the round of 16 at Euro 2020 alive.
Matteo Pessini’s 39th-minute goal made all the difference as the Azzurri maintained their lead against Wales after defender Ethan Ampadu lost after receiving a red card in the second half for his awkward tackle against Italian striker Federico Bernardeschi .
With this win, Italy made European Championship history by becoming the first team to go clean in the first three games of the tournament and expanding their unbeaten streak to 30 games, setting the world record set in 1930. This is also her 11th win in a row.
“It is important that the team’s identity remains the same, as a change of three or four players shouldn’t make any difference. They all know what to do and the end product doesn’t change, ”said Italy manager Roberto Mancini.
“They all showed today that everyone is a first choice here,” added the coach. “It wasn’t even necessary to win, that made it mentally difficult, but we still fought for victory and that shows so much,” added the Italian.
Wales managed to finish second despite the defeat and qualify for the round of 16 with Italy leading Group A. Italy is just chasing its second European title, playing against the runner-up in Group C London next Saturday at Wembley. Wales will face the runner-up in Group B in Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, the Swiss put up a masterclass in Baku to beat Turkey 3-1, with Xherdan Shakiri scooping a brace.
AP photo
Switzerland took the lead very early in the game when Seferovic scored in the 6th minute to break the impasse. Shakiri then scored two goals on either side of the break, while Steven Zuber provided three assists in the game for the Swiss, breaking Turkish Hamit Altntop’s record against the Czech Republic in 2008.
“We reacted after the defeat against Italy,” said Shaqiri, referring to the 3-0 defeat in Rome on Wednesday. “We played like a unit and that was decisive against this team today. We knew that if we were good, we would “We’re going to create a lot of chances against this team today, and we did.”
Turkey leave the competition after a third consecutive defeat while the Swiss hope to advance to the round of 16 as one of the best teams in third place after falling four points tied with second-placed Wales but behind the goal difference.
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