Italy take on the visitors Ukraine in the round 6 match of UEFA Euro-2024 qualification. The match will be played on Tuesday, September 12th at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan).
Italy is playing only its second match after a change in leadership. Under Mancini, the Squadra Azzurra returned to the ranks of top national teams, winning Euro 2020. However, it's important to remember that they won this tournament largely due to Donnarumma's penalty shootout heroics in two matches, including the final. Most importantly, there haven't been many notable successes apart from that. They won their UEFA Nations League groups, but in the Final Four in June, they lost to Spain in the semi-finals and finished in third place. Moreover, they failed to qualify for the World Cup, finishing behind Switzerland in the group and then shockingly losing to North Macedonia in the playoff. The new qualification campaign started with a 1-2 home loss to England. Overall, the departure of Roberto Mancini was sudden, but it shouldn't be a tragedy. Especially since Luciano Spalletti, who led Napoli to the Serie A title, was available to take over. His debut came in a crucial match against North Macedonia, but it ended in a mere draw. Despite opening the scoring, the favorites conceded an equalizer from Bardi in the 81st minute.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Ukraine are unlikely to cause a sensation in this cycle, but the opportunity is there right now. The yellow and blues also changed their coach during this calendar year, or more accurately, they got a proper head coach. Petrakov was not retained after a loss to Wales in the decisive playoff for World Cup qualification. Ukraine had only finished second in their UEFA Nations League group, ahead of Ireland and Armenia but behind Scotland. However, Serhiy Rebrov only became available for the national team in June, so under Rotan's interim leadership, Ukraine started in March with a 0-2 loss to England, the clear favorites. With Sergey, the results were more promising: a 3-3 draw against Germany in a friendly match, victories over North Macedonia and Malta. However, questions remained about their performance, as evidenced by their 0-2 deficit in Skopje at halftime, which they turned into a spirited 3-2 victory. The window began with a new match against Southgate's three lions, and in Wroclaw, they managed to hold them to a 1-1 draw. However, did they expend too much energy on that game?
Ukraine have never beaten Italy in nine previous meetings, but they have drawn twice, including one under Shevchenko in 2018, in a friendly match. It's clear that the home team will be the favorite, but they often make mistakes, and it won't be easy for them. It's better to go with the total goals under 2.5 option in this match.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
