Powerhouse squad Italy (1-0-0, 3 points) will take on dark horse Sweden (0-0-1, 1 point) in the second round of Group E competitions of the 2016 UEFA European Championship this Friday, June 17 at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse.
Sports Livestream ⚽ JOIN NOW for FREE
Instant access to the BT Sport, Sky Sports and Eurosport
Italy, currently ranked 12th in the world by FIFA, pulled off a stunning 2-0 victory over world no. 2 Belgium in their tournament opener on Monday at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, as per ESPN.
Manager Antonio Conte, English Premier League side Chelsea’s incoming head coach, successfully prepared a game plan against the heavily-favored Belgians during the match as they grabbed the top spot of the group table and put themselves in prime position to advance in the knockout stages.
Bologna winger Emanuele Giaccherini netted the opening goal at the 32nd minute off a long pass by Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci to dash the Belgian’s furious attacks early on in the contest.
De Rode Duivels started the game strongly with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini, and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku combining from attack to attack.
Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan joined in and almost scored the first goal of the match but his shot from 30 yards out was blocked by Italy and Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon.
Southampton striker Graziano Pellè sealed the win for the Italians as he doubled the lead in injury time, putting to bed the upset win.
Meanwhile, Sweden held the Republic of Ireland to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis also on Monday, BBC Sport reported.
After a goalless first half, attacking midfielder Wes Hoolahan finally broke the deadlock for the Boys in Green just two minutes into the restart.
Sweden got a break at the 71st when Irish defender Ciaran Clark netted an own goal to equalize the match and save head coach Erik Hamrén’s men a share of a point in the group standings.
Team captain Zlatan Ibrahimović of Paris Saint-Germain was uncharacteristically silent during the match as he was effectively pursued by the Green Army defense.
Momentum is in the side of Conte’s squad at the moment and they are projected to win by rout over Sweden.
The predicted result is a 2-1 romp for Italy.
Italy starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Candreva, Parolo, De Rossi, Giaccherini, Darmian; Pellè, Martins
Sweden starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Isaksson; Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist, Olsson; Larsson, Lewicki, Kallstrom, Forsberg; Berg, Ibrahimović
