Rome: Two goals on either half by Manuel Locatelli inspired Italy to move to the knockouts of the ongoing Euro 2020 beating Switzerland 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Ciro Immobile rounded off the match with a last-minute goal to cap in a memorable day for the Azzurri.
Meanwhile, a couple of assists from Gareth Bale helped Wales cruise past Turkey 2-0 win at Olympic Stadium in Group A. Elsewhere, Aleksei Miranchuk’s lone goal helped Russia register their maiden win in the Euro 2020.
Roberto Mancini’s side played some beautiful football in the first half before Giorgio Chiellini’s goal was ruled out for a handball. However, Italy didn’t take much time in breaking the deadlock with Locatelli tapping from a close range in the 26th minute.
Locatelli completed his brace in the second half before Immobile put the icing on the cake with an absolute stunner from outside the penalty area. The reigning world champions also became the first side to qualify for the knockouts of Euro 2020.
“We won the game thinking we wanted to win it at all costs,” Mancini said. “It was a very tough match. We could have scored a second goal a bit earlier. We suffered when we had to suffer but in the end it’s a well-deserved victory. It was the second game in five days and the boys have worked a lot. We could have sealed it earlier but we stayed patient.”
On the other hand, Bale made up for his missed penalty when he set up Aaron Ramsey (42nd) and Connor Roberts (90+5) as Wales took an affirming step towards the knockout stages of the Euro 2020. Turkey came close during the second half when captain Burak Yilmaz was unmarked but his volley went over the crossbar.
For Russia, it was Atalanta forward Miranchuk who scored the only and decisive goal against Finland. Russia dominated the possession in the first half but the Finns came out much stronger. In the second half, Stanislav Cherchesov’s men were more than comfortable sitting back and protect their lead.
