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Already tonight will begin the long-awaited European Football Championship, which despite taking place in 2021, kept the name EURO 2020. Usually the championship is started by the host team, but this year the championship is taking place in 11 different European cities, and the honor of starting the tournament at the Rome Olympic Stadium will go to the national teams of Italy and Turkey, who will compete in Group A. The portal Eurofootball.com invites you to look at what awaits us on the first day of the championship.
Opening Ceremony
As usual, before the first championship match, there will be an opening ceremony. Both at the stadium and in front of the television screens, the fans waiting for the first match will be greeted with an impressive performance of the EURO 2020 championship anthem "We Are The People", created by Martin Garrix, Bono, and "The Edge". It is announced that football enthusiasts should be amazed by an interactive performance of the artists, which will look impressive both at the stadium and on TV screens.
The performance at the stadium will also be hosted by the Italian musical genius Andrea Bocelli, who will perform the song "Nessun Dorma". Obviously, the opening ceremony will not lack impressive visuals and performances, serving as a great introduction to the first EURO 2020 match. The opening ceremony on Friday will start at 9 p.m. Lithuanian time.
Opening Match: Will the Turks spoil the party for the Italians?
EURO 2020 at the Rome Olympic Stadium will kick off with Group A matches between the national teams of Italy and Turkey. Besides these teams, Wales and Switzerland will also compete in Group A. Obviously, in this group, the favorite label is attached to Italy, who under Roberto Mancini demonstrate a very solid game, as the Lithuanians could recently attest when they had to admit this team's superiority in the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In the European Championship qualifiers, the Italians won all 10 matches played and left behind Finland, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, and Liechtenstein. To top it off, the Italians face the championship with a series of 25 unbeaten matches and are just five wins away from the best result in history. The young Federico Chiesa should bring a lot of hope to the Italians, as he had a great season with Juventus and is ready to prove his worth in the European Football Championship.
However, perhaps the biggest star of this team will be Gianluigi Donnarumma, who even during the European Championship will be fought over by the most famous clubs on the continent. Nevertheless, the Italians should not underestimate their first opponents. Turkish footballers advanced to the front in their qualifying group, only losing to the French, and managed to defeat the world champions even at home.
This team also boasts known names, with the standout star being Caglar Soyuncu, the defensive pillar of the Leicester team. True, the team also has prominent personalities in the attack, with Hakan Calhanoglu and veteran Burak Yilmaz standing out the most. In the first game of the tournament, bookmakers consider the Italians as clear favorites, giving them more than a 64% chance of achieving victory. The first EURO 2020 match will start on Friday at 10 p.m. Lithuanian time.
