Bosnia and Montenegro, the two former Yugoslav republics, square off against each other at Stadion Grbavica in what is expected to be a close encounter. The Balkan Dragons will be without key attacker Edin Dzeko in Wednesday’s friendly, which is probably the main reason why home win should not be considered. Both Miralem Pjanic and Amer Gojak have been left out of the squad as well.
The Montenegrins, on the other hand, will be without Monaco ace Stevan Jovetic in the midweek game, with Sporting Gijon attacker Uros Djurdjevic likely to lead the line for the visitors. Taking everything into account, the two teams seem to be evenly matched at the moment, and we are tempted to put our money on draw. In the first meeting between the two teams Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro played out a goalless draw, and we predict that the history is going to repeat itself.
For just the second time in their history, Turkey will participate in a second consecutive European Championships this summer after impressively negotiating their way through Qualifying Group H. The Crescent-Stars finished second only to France and four points clear of Iceland, losing just one of their 10 games. Furthermore, no side in European Championship qualifying had a better defensive record, with Turkey conceding just three goals.
But they face a tough task in their opening match against an Italian side looking to prove a point. After failing to reach the 2018 World Cup — their first major tournament absence since 1992 — the Azzurri qualified for this tournament with a 100% record across 10 games, scoring 37 goals and conceding just four times as they breezed past the likes of Finland, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Roberto Mancini’s side has a very different look to the Italian outfit that crashed out of Euro 2016 at the quarter-final stage with a number of young prospects replacing veteran stars. It’s time to test them out on the big stage.