Italy qualified to the round-of-16 as Group A winners, following a narrow win over Wales. Gareth Bale and Co still managed to finish second and are through to the knockout stage. Switzerland, on the other hand, face an anxious wait to learn their fate.
Roberto Mancini named a much-changed Italian side thanks to the team already securing qualification to the knockout stage. However, with group winners yet to be ascertained, Italy took on a Wales side looking to guarantee their place in the round-of-16.
Andrea Belotti, Federico Bernardeschi, and Federico Chiesa made up the front three, with Marco Verratti and Matteo Pessina partnering Jorginho in midfield. Chelsea midfielder – along with Leonardo Bonucci and Gianluigi Donnarumma – the only players Mancini retained from Italy’s win over Switzerland last week. None of those three would finish the match.
Belotti, Chiesa, and Bernardeschi all went close for Italy, with the latter hitting the post with his free-kick. However, the breakthrough arrived through Pessina, a player only in the squad due to Lorenzo Pellegrini’s injury. The Atalanta midfielder turned a Verratti free-kick past Danny Ward in the Welsh goal with the deftest of touches. Pessina nearly doubled his tally minutes later when his outstretched leg diverted the ball just past the post.
Wales’ task was made even more difficult in the second half when Ethan Ampadu received his marching orders from the referee. The youngster was adjudged, albeit harshly, to have committed a reckless challenge and was shown a straight red card. Nonetheless, Wales hung on to the one-goal deficit, which, as it turned out, proved to be important in the end.
In the other Group A game, Switzerland took on a hapless Turkey and raced into the lead thanks to a goal by Haris Seferovic. Xherdan Shaqiri scored either side of an Irfan Kahveci strike to give the Swiss a 3-1 advantage. However, the result fell short of securing direct qualification to the knockouts for Bruno Petkovic’s men, who must now wait for the conclusion of all the other groups to learn their fate.
