Italy vs Argentina. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
Italy will host Argentina at Wembley Stadium in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions final. The match will take place on June 2, beginning at 00:15 IST.
The clash between Italy and Argentina at Wembley on the first day of summer is a completely new experience for a fresh generation of football fans. Similar matches between winners of the Euros and America’s Cup were already organised in the last century, and back then they were held under the flagship name of the Artemio Franchi Cup.
But the idea did not take root – only two countries became continental winners: France beat Uruguay 2-0 in 1985 and Argentina beat Denmark on penalties in 1993. After a break of 29 years, the clash of the champions was given a second life.
Of course, such an important event is taken absolutely seriously by the teams and countries, everyone wants to win the new trophy. That’s why the coaches have called on all the best players. Even Leo Messi, who has faced a wave of negativity for playing for PSG, will help his national team. That’s probably why the nominal visitors are favourites.
The match will only include regulation time, and if no winner is decided, there will be an immediate penalty shoot-out afterwards.
Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Italy News & Current Form:
As we remember, Italy recently set a record for the longest unbeaten streak in all official international encounters – 37 games without a defeat. With that, they celebrated the great trophy beating England (1-1; 3-2 on penalties) in the Euro 2020 finals. On top of that, Azzurri reached the semi-finals of last year’s UEFA Nations League.
However, Roberto Mancini‘s side failed to reach the final of the competition. After encountering some unexpectedly strong opposition from Spain‘s young national side, the team showed a lacklustre display and lost 2-1.
The Blues slumped massively after that, and in less than a year since their Euro 2020 triumph, the Italian national team have once again become the biggest football losers, shocking the world by failing to qualify for the forthcoming World Cup in Qatar.
In the semi-finals of the qualifiers, the Italians lost to a modestly-ranked Northern Macedonia (0-1) in the deciding game. The Azzurri had the initiative for most of the encounter, but their goalscoring performance let them down.
By the way, they have been haunted by this malaise for a long time. Despite big names in the attack, the team scored more than two goals per game very rarely.
To make matters worse, Ciro Immobile, Serie A’s top scorer (27 goals), is injured. The forward failed to appear in the last two rounds of the Italian championship and, according to some reports, will not be able to play in the upcoming clash. The striker is also likely to miss four games in the Nations League. The loss is a very serious one.
Don`t miss out 👉: Serie A Team of the 2021-22 Season
Argentina News & Current Form:
Argentina, for their part, have not suffered a single defeat in 17 matches of World Cup 2022 qualification, including six draws – against a powerful Brazil (0-0) as well. Remarkably, Lionel Messi was unable to take part in that meeting. Despite the leader’s absence, the team played well: they won possession and took more shots on target.
By the way, the Argentine star has not performed well at the club level this season. In 26 meetings in Ligue 1, he scored only six goals. However, he has made more assists – 16. Yet, the fans were certainly expecting better results from him, considering the level of teammates and league. Any eagerness and desire to play for PSG was out of the question for Leo.
Carlitos Tevez had his say on the matter. The former Argentinian striker remarked that Messi at the national team and Messi at PSG are two different men. It’s impossible not to agree with Tevez: the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored seven goals in 15 qual-caps for South Americans. Modestly enough, but his behaviour on the pitch has inspired many of his teammates for heroics.
In contrast to France, the 34-year-old forward worked in defence, launched attacks and was at times over-active. Perhaps the inspiration to play his best for the Blues-and-Whites came after winning the Copa América final. The trophy was the first for the striker in the international arena.
Argentina’s solid defensive line also deserves special mention. The Blues have conceded just eight goals in 17 rounds of FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying. Still, the goal-scoring is also an issue for La Albiceleste. 27 goals were netted. Therefore, the upcoming game will certainly not become a reach one on goals.
Italy season form guide (all competitions): L-W-D-D-L-W
Argentina season form guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-W-D
Italy vs Argentina United Head-To-Head Record:
| Italy | Draw | Argentina |
| 0 | 0 | 2 |
Italy vs Argentina Predicted XI:
Italy possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Emerson, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Jorginho, Marco Verratti, Nicolo Barella; Nicolo Zaniolo, Lorenzo Insigne, Gianluca Scamacca.
Argentina possible starting lineup XI (4-3-3): Emiliano Martinez; Marcos Acuna, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Nahuel Molina; Guido Rodriguez, Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso; Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez.
Statistical preview of the match Italy vs Argentina:
- Italy have conceded five goals in eight games since the Euros.
- Argentina have conceded only 8 goals in 17 games in the entire World Cup qualifying cycle.
- No more than 2 goals have been scored in 7 of Italy’s last 10 official matches.
- At least one of the teams have not scored in 8 of Argentina’s 10 previous meetings at official level.
- Argentina have not lost in 25 consecutive away matches.
- 23 of Italy’s last 24 home matches have seen a match total of less than 3.5 goals.
- Argentina have scored less than 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 7 away matches.
What has been said before the match:
“It’s beautiful [to leave the international football like that]. Argentina have exceptional players. It’s obvious that the first one who comes to your mind is [Lionel] Messi but the others around him are fantastic – they didn’t win [the Copa América] by accident.
[Messi is] a football icon. It’s not for me to say if he is the greatest of all time or not. It will just be a pleasure to play my last game for the national team against him. I was lucky to face him on several occasions and luckily it has often gone well. Combating great players like him is down to luck: if he and his team get it right on the day, they are unstoppable.”
“I’ll miss all the lads, the daily routine, the excitement, the interaction. I’ve shared the changing room with a lot of young players, who I’ve always treated like little brothers. I’ve liked playing this role of big brother. As the years have gone by, I’ve been able to experience all that we do in more of a relaxed fashion; experience shapes and improves you. I think it will be the same for the youngsters of today.”
says the experienced Italy defender as he prepares to hang up his boots after Finalissima against Argentina.
“Among my best memories is the European Championship victory. Then, there was my debut, which is always fantastic and magical. I’ve had an absolutely incredible career. Playing for the National Team is every child’s dream, and I could never have imagined going on such a journey.”
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach:
“It’s always good to play against a strong opponent. Argentinian players, the ones that play for the national team, play for the love of the crest and their family, their friends. It was always like that and now it’s even more so.”
15,000 people came to the San Mamés stadium in Spain to watch Argentina preparing for the Finalissima
Italy vs Argentina Prediction:
Both teams know how to play defensively. With similar goal-scoring problems, there is a chance that the opponents will not be able to decide the strongest in regular time. However, the nominal visitors look preferable. The history of their head-to-head encounters, although they took place a long time ago, is also on the side of the Argentines (two games – two wins).
The more painful it will be for the Italians. First, they’ve missed out on the Qatar World Cup, and now they could lose their chance of winning at least a trophy. The second is the persona of Giorgio Chiellini. The legendary defender is ending his national team career with an upcoming match. However, the team’s recent lackluster form and staffing problems will surely spoil his farewell.
The Italian national team have been unstable since losing to Spain in the League of Nations, and have failed to progress to the World Cup as a result. On top of that, they have recently lost their top scorer. They could go all the way to the penalty shoot-out, but in our opinion, Argentina are the favourites. The team’s leader, Lionel Messi, is in action. The results of qualification for the 2022 World Cup speak volumes. We believe the visitors will not lose in 90 minutes. We also do not expect too many goals.