Italy vs Wales UEFA Euro LIVE Football Score 20 June 2021

Wales will be looking to make certain of their place in the knockout stages of Euro 2020 with a point against Europe’s form side Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

The Dragons have picked up four points from their opening two Group A games, while Italy have a perfect six from six and are already through to the next round. It was a performance that brought back memories of 2016 and their famous run to the semi-finals of the last Euros, with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey stepping up on the night.

Bale may have skied a penalty, but he set up Ramsey for the opening goal and then teed up Connor Roberts late on for a killer second. That win leaves Wales all but assured of a place in the last 16 for the second tournament running due to the fact that four of the best third-placed sides advance.

A point will guarantee second place, a win will see them through as group winners, while a defeat may also see them progress as runners-up should Switzerland fail to beat Turkey. Rob Page is likely to take the opportunity to rotate his side for this trip to Rome, meaning that his key men will be fit for the last 16.

Italy’s Ciro Immobile celebrates scoring against Switzerland at Euro 2020 on June 16, 2021
© Reuters That is also expected to be the case for Italy, although Roberto Mancini will also be eager to keep his side’s momentum going with three more points on Sunday.

Wales face Italy on Sunday knowing that, regardless of the result in Rome, they are almost guaranteed to reach the knockout stages of Euro 2020. Wales have not always had it so good. In fact, until Euro 2016, their most recent appearance at a major tournament was at the 1958 World Cup. So when Italy, then three-time world champions, came to Cardiff for a European Championship qualifier in 2002, this was a huge occasion for Wales.

There was a sense of hope Welsh football had not felt for a generation. The night of 16 October 2002 took it to another level. Italy were in Cardiff for a Euro 2004 qualifier and the city centre was heaving with supporters lining the streets for their team’s arrival. As Wales travelled to the Millennium Stadium that evening, their manager wanted to ensure they were in the right frame of mind.

“I’d prepared a video for the team to play on the coach, showing clips of our famous goals from our history and Welsh fans celebrating at the stadium, that kind of thing – there was music and all sorts on it,” recalls former Wales manager Hughes.

“We had timed how long it took the previous night when we went to the stadium. So we knew when we got to a certain roundabout, that was when we were putting the video tape in and the plan was that we were all going to watch it leading into the stadium.

“Initially though, I was thinking good plans don’t always come off because when we were travelling in on the night of the game, it was the responsibility of our team doctor – well, he’s a surgeon actually, Professor John Fairclough – to put the video tape in. But he couldn’t get it in.

“So we were thinking we’ve missed the time we need to do this, so he got a bit of stick – we were saying all our timings are out now.

“But actually, as it happens, because there was a bit of traffic and thousands of fans of course, we were held up. As we went underneath the stadium to pull up by the dressing-room entrance, and just as the doors opened on the coach, that was exactly the moment that the video tape ended.

“The idea was for it to be motivational, so it ended up being perfect timing for it to stop right at that moment – it felt a bit eerie, really. I was thinking, ‘maybe that’s a good sign

Match facts

• This is the first match between Italy and Wales at a major tournament. The Azzurri have won seven of the nine meetings, with Wales winning the other two.
• The most recent encounter was a European Championship qualifier in Milan in 2003, which the hosts won 4-0. Robert Page started for Wales as Filippo Inzaghi scored an 11-minute hat-trick.
• Italy are unbeaten in their past 29 games. If they avoid defeat, they will equal their all-time longest unbeaten run of 30 games between 1935 and 1939.
• They have gone 965 minutes without conceding a goal.
• If Wales avoid defeat, they will have made it out of the group stage in all three of their appearances at a major tournament, having also done so at the 1958 World Cup and Euro 2016.
• Wales have lost just one of their past 15 competitive games, March’s 3-1 defeat by Belgium in a World Cup qualifier.
• Aaron Ramsey has been involved in six of the 13 goals Wales have scored at European Championships, scoring two and assisting four.