Turkey and Italy meet in the Nations League tonight, with both sides looking to recover from opening defeats in Group A1.
Friday brought losing starts for both nations. Turkey, competing at the top level of the UEFA competition for the first time after beating Hungary 6-1 on aggregate in March 2025 to win promotion from League B, battled hard at home to France in Izmit. Kylian Mbappe scored a second-half winner in what was Zinedine Zidane's first match in charge of Les Bleus, injuring his knee in the process. Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was sent off three minutes from time for handling the ball outside his penalty area.
Italy's struggles continue
Italy suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Belgium in Rome, heaping early pressure on head coach Roberto Mancini, whose appointment to replace Gennaro Gattuso has not been universally popular following the saga involving Andrea Pirlo. Paolo Maldini resigned as technical director of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), along with his advisor Leonardo, with Claudio Ranieri hired as his replacement as Mancini took the managerial reins for the second time.
Italy are desperate for a lift after that controversy and after missing out on the World Cup in heartbreaking fashion for the third consecutive time. Turkey exited the tournament disappointingly in the group stage but finished with a morale-boosting victory over co-hosts the United States.
How to watch Turkey vs Italy
Former Azzurri striker Montella will aim to earn bragging rights over his homeland, having made 20 appearances for Italy between 1999 and 2005.
Turkey vs Italy is available to watch live in the UK via Amazon Prime Video's pay-per-view service. A single match pass costs £2.49, with coverage beginning at 7:35pm BST ahead of a 7:45pm kick-off in Bursa (9:45pm local time). Italy face Turkey again next Monday night at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna.
