Türkiye, Italy draw in Euro 2024 warmup game

BOLOGNA

Italy stuttered to a 0-0 draw at home to Türkiye in the first of two warmup matches before it begins the defense of its European Championship title next week.

June 4 night’s match was overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to Türkiye defender Ozan Kabak, who appears more than likely to miss Euro 2024 in Germany, where he plays his club football.

Kabak, who plays for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, was applauded by both teams and the whole of the stadium in Bologna when he was stretchered off shortly before halftime after injuring his right knee.

The 24-year-old player fell awkwardly following a challenge with Italy forward Mateo Retegui.

“Good evenings can have such bad memories,” Türkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said after the game, adding that the situation does not good look for the player.

Montella was not disappointed with Turkish players’ performances against his native country.

“We are happy with the result, it could have been 1-1,” he said.

“Our opponent is a strong competitor [for the Euro title]. I think we can improve a few things, we will continue to work on them.”

Türkiye plays its first Euro 2024 match against Georgia on June 18 before facing Portugal and the Czech Republic.

Another warmup game is scheduled for the country against Poland on June 10.

There were few real goalscoring opportunities, and Italy’s best chance of the match came with the last piece of action of the first half as Bryan Cristante headed a corner onto the near post.

Retegui wasted a good opportunity in the 59th minute when he opted for an acrobatic overhead kick that went far over the bar.

Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was brought on shortly afterward for his Italy comeback after recently returning from a seven-month ban from football for betting violations.

Italy has another friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 9 before kicking off its title defense against Albania on June 15. Spain and Croatia are also in Group B.