Turkey Euro 2020 group: Who have they been drawn against?
The Turkey Euro 2020 group will kick off the tournament in Rome on June 11
The Turkey Euro 2020 group will get the tournament under way on June 11.
As the name implies, Euro 2020 was originally planned for last summer, only for the coronavirus pandemic to intervene and force a delay.
The 16th edition of the Euros, which will be held in 11 different cities in the same number of countries, begins with a clash involving Italy and Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The final will take place a month later, with England, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Germany among the favourites to be at Wembley on July 11.
Group A
Italy
Turkey
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Turkey will be looking to reach the knockout stage of the European Championship for the first time since 2008.
A thrilling run to the semi-finals of that tournament remains the high point of the national team at the Euros, with Turkey failing to qualify for the 2012 edition and then crashing out in the group stage of Euro 2016.
Their showing five years ago was particularly disappointing, as Fatih Terim’s side became one of only eight teams to fall at the first hurdle.
Now managed by Senol Gunes, Turkey will be striving to better their Euro 2016 performance in this summer’s competition.
They qualified in impressive fashion, winning seven and drawing two of their 10 matches to finish second in their group.
Turkey are the underdogs for the opening game of the tournament against Italy, but that might actually suit them.
A win or draw against Italy would be invaluable, although Turkey have probably identified the meeting with Wales on June 16 as more pivotal to their chances of progression.
That game will take place in Baku, as will their meeting with Switzerland on June 20.
Group A is one of the most open and unpredictable that Euro 2020 has to offer, and Turkey will believe a top-two finish is not beyond them.