Missing Players and team news:
A vital cog in the Italy engine room is set to be missing on Friday, as PSG midfield maestro Marco Verratti has trained alone during the past week, with the much-admired Manuel Locatelli instead poised to start the tournament’s opening game. While Verratti’s ongoing knee problem prevents him from participating, Roberto Mancini has few other fitness concerns in his 26-man squad, so a very similar side to that which started the Azzurri’s friendly win over the Czech Republic last week should be selected. Therefore, Lazio’s Ciro Immobile retains the centre-forward spot ahead of Andrea Belotti, who endured a loss of goalscoring form towards the end of the season, while Alessandro Florenzi’s customary verve from right-back should be available, as he is set to shake off a muscular issue to start on his former home ground. Much like the Italians, their visitors are expected to pick an XI which closely corresponds to that chosen by Senol Gunes in their final warm-up win over Moldova last week. Burak Yilmaz should shoulder the goalscoring burden as Turkey’s line-leader, with support from Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu, cutting in from the left, and Yusuf Yazici starting in behind. In defence, Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral is favourite to line up alongside Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu, though the Crescent-Stars are blessed with several other options at the back, with Liverpool loanee Ozan Kabak and Sassuolo’s Kaan Ayhan also to consider. Having impressed during his spell in the Premier League, Okay Yokuslu is most likely to start as the holding midfielder in a probable 4-1-4-1 formation, while Cengiz Under – back at the Olimpico after his loan at Leicester – is a candidate to replace Kenan Karaman out wide.
