Italy

With the UEFA European Championship Qualifiers completed, next on the menu for the 2020 Euros is the group stages. And in anticipation of this section of the tournament being just around the corner, we thought we would start by looking into how the groups have performed and make some predictions for the upcoming fixtures. In this blog post we are going to explore Group A which contains the following national teams:

• Italy
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Wales

Throughout the post we are going to look into each national team in Group A in depth so that we can get a better picture on how the group stages will pan out. So, if you want to find out more about what could be expected from Group A, then keep on reading.

Italy’s Current and Previous Performance

The Italian national team is currently ranked 13^th in the FIFA World Rankings with 1607 points. Italy are a relatively strong team so we could expect them to do really well in the Euros. However, going by their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 2018

Currently the top two scorers in Serie A, in this blog post we are going to compare Cristiano Ronaldo and Ciro Immobile. We will explore their previous performance in the 2018/19 season in depth, along with an overview on their career and current standings too. So, if you want to find out more about how these top players compare, then keep on reading.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 18/19 Performance

Since his stint with Manchester United in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo has consistently been making a name for himself in the football world. He is a household name and is praised across the globe for his training ethics and impressive performance on the pitch. Ronaldo has had many successful seasons with each club he has played for, but in this part of the article we are going to focus on his most recent performance. As the current Serie A tournament is still ongoing, stats could all change since the time of writing, therefore we are going to see how Ronaldo performed during the 2018/19 season. Below is a

Within this article we are going to look across the long-standing football career of Ciro Immobile. Exploring his transition from youth to senior squads on both the club and international side, we are going to analyze his historic and current performance on the pitch.

Here are the basics of Ciro Immobile’s personal and player profile, keep reading to find out more about his football career:

• DOB – 20^th February 1990
• Height – 1.85m
• Weight – 78kg
• Nationality – Italian
• Signed – 1^st July 2010
• Position - Striker

Immobile’s Youth Career

Ciro was born on the 20^th February 1990 in Torre Annunziata and started his youth career in football at the Torre Annunziata ’88. After being at the football school in his local area, he transferred to Maria Rosa before joining the Salernitana youth team. During his time with Salernitana he did not reach the level he wanted of exposure for his talent as he often found himself on the bench. Because of this negative experience with Salernitana he moved shortly

After the nail biting performance of the national teams during the international tournament earlier this year, the run up to release of the Euro 2020 schedules were greatly anticipated by fans worldwide. Therefore as earlier this week the fixtures and groupings for the UEFA European Championships Qualifiers 2020 were announced, we thought we would put this article together for our readers. This blog therefore covers how the groups have been drawn and who are expected to be the ones to beat.

What the Euro 2020 Qualifying Groups Look Like

In advance of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, the qualifiers are to take place in order to determine which 24 teams advance to the Championship. The qualifying tournament runs in addition to the brand new 2018/19 UEFA Nations Cup, which offers an alternative route to qualification for the 2020 tournament. Here is the breakdown of each country that is eligible for a place in the upcoming games and who they are playing against in their groups:

• Group A – England,

At the moment the national teams are currently battling it out on the football pitch to win the new Nations League trophy. And with the extra bonus of four places in the Euro tournament in two years’ time up for grabs, the anticipation to succeed in Nations League is high.

As this is a very new tournament we wanted to put this post together to cover all of the need to know information about the ongoing games. From how the season is scheduled to who are the strongest teams so far, read below to find out all the latest info.

What is the Nation’s League?

The Nations League was first set-up in 2018 as an alternative way for national teams to acquire a place in the Euros, and replaced the current friendly matches for competition matches. This series of matches will take place every two years on the run-up to the next European league tournament.

How the Nations League works is that all 55 national teams will be split into 4 leagues depending on their skill levels and successes. By having these

For many people, fashion is one of the first things that springs to mind when discussing Italy. The Italian appreciation of style, the way things look, is unique; time spent in any of the country’s major cities confirms as much. This aspect of the culture is sometimes seen in club football on the peninsula, though it’s often proved a more difficult assignment to incorporate at international level.

Italian Style Injected into the National Kit

The Italy national team, like all national teams, have a set look, at least when it comes to colours involved, which generally limits their stylistic options. However, in the first tournament of the new millennium, Euro 2000 in Belgium and
Holland, the Azzurri took to the field in one of the most eye-catching kits seen in recent times.

There were several reasons behind the kit’s appeal. Firstly, it utilised a slightly different hue of blue to the traditional Italy kit. Secondly, the shirts were much tighter than the norm at that time. In many ways,

15th November 2017.
Italy's 1-0 aggregate loss to Sweden in their World Cup qualification play-off has sparked a maelstrom of emotion within the Italian football community, with an outpouring of sadness, disappointment and anger greeting the final whistle at the end of the goalless second leg at the San Siro.

The defeat means the Azzurri fail to qualify for a World Cup finals for the first time in 60 years, denying legendary goalkeeper and 2006 World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon the dream career bookend of bowing out at next summer's tournament in Russia, while fellow veterans Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini have also confirmed their subsequent international retirements.

Many observers are calling for a root-and-branch review of the Italian football system, feeling that systemic issues are at the heart of Italy's recent failures, and deeming the current pool of Azzurri players inferior to past generations.

But, in truth, as much as anything, Italy's qualification

3rd June 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
"I call my role a blind job because people don't notice the work you're doing. I feel a bit like Thomas Müller at Bayern Munich they pick him because he does a lot of blind jobs, which makes things easier for everyone else."

These were the words of Sunderland's Fabio Borini when speaking to the Guardian about the sacrificial role he's had to undertake under Sam Allardyce. The former Chelsea, Swansea, Roma and Liverpool forward, who's been predominantly deployed out wide, usually on the right, has gone about his defensively geared assignments with unwavering commitment and intensity. For a striker, traditionally one of the most individualistic outfield players, Borini deserves plenty of credit for going about his work with a minimum of fuss and selflessness.

"Playing wide is hard. Sometimes it's more about going backwards than forwards. It's about defending and tracking back rather than enjoying the ball in the opposition half, and it's why I'm not scoring

On Thursday, January 28^th, Gianluigi Buffon turned 38. Even by the standards of goalkeepers-who typically have longer careers than other footballers-the Italian legend is reaching the twilight years of his professional career. Not too surprisingly, then, the week of Buffon's birthday also brought the news that the Juventus captain's retirement is imminent-if still a few years away. "If I can push myself up to the 2018 World Cup then I'll go on," Buffon told reporters. After the World Cup, he plans to "close the door and stop playing football."

An Italian Legend

Of course, the 2018 World Cup is still two years away, and there is no guarantee that Buffon-who will be 40 when the event rolls around-will be chosen as part of Italy's squad. With that said, Gianluigi is currently the captain of the Italy team and the most-capped player in national team history. He's recorded 154 appearances for Italy since 1997, 18 more than any other person. The next most-capped active player is Andrea Pirlo,

The 2016 UEFA European Championship won't get underway until June 10^th of next year. As of early December, though, the group stage draws for the tournament are set. With 24 teams spread across six groups, which countries will rise and which will fall in the first round of this prestigious football tournament? Read on to check out our predictions for each of the six groups.

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The Group: A
The Teams: France, Romania, Albania, Switzerland
The Likely Outcome: France are the natural frontrunners here. In addition to being the tournament hosts, France are also the only soccer team in this group that have won a previous European Championship title-let alone two. France won in both 1984 (also at a tournament they hosted) and 2000 and have had a fairly solid year, friendly-wise. Romania went undefeated in the qualifiers but picked up five draws out of their 10 matches. If there's a threat here, it could be Albania, a Euro debutante team that won a friendly against France