Having both failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Greece and Italy will close out their 2025-26 international campaigns with a friendly clash in Crete on Sunday as attention shifts toward the upcoming UEFA Nations League season.
Italy’s absence from the World Cup marks a historic low for the four-time champions, who have now missed three consecutive editions after also failing to qualify in 2018 and 2022. The Azzurri were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion after losing to Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalties in the playoff final despite overcoming Northern Ireland in the semi-finals.
Following that disappointment, Italy began a rebuilding process with interim coach Silvio Baldini leading a youthful squad filled with uncapped talents. Their first outing under Baldini ended in a narrow 1-0 victory over Luxembourg thanks to a second-half strike from Inter Milan youngster Pio Esposito.
Meanwhile, Turkey officially secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after ending a 24-year absence from the tournament and will face Venezuela in a final warm-up match before the competition begins.
Italy now travel to Heraklion hoping more young players can impress before a difficult UEFA Nations League campaign featuring France, Belgium and Turkey later this year.
Greece also endured disappointment after finishing third in their World Cup qualifying group behind Scotland. Despite earlier success in the Nations League, including a famous victory over England at Wembley, Ivan Jovanovic’s side have struggled for consistency in recent months.
The Greeks needed a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser from Giorgios Masouras to rescue a 2-2 draw against Sweden on Thursday and have won only once in their last eight matches heading into Sunday’s encounter.
Team News
Italy are expected to continue experimenting with young talents after 15 players made their senior debuts against Luxembourg. Gianluigi Donnarumma is likely to captain the side again, while Pio Esposito could keep his place in attack.
Italy via their official X handle revealed that Marco Palestra, a 21-year-old Italian right-back at Cagliari on loan from Atalanta, has left the Azzurri training camp and will miss the June 7 friendly against Greece after medical staff assessed his adductor issue as non-recoverable.
The update follows Italy’s recent win over Luxembourg, part of squad experiments by interim coach Silvio Baldini featuring several young players making senior debuts.
Greece are expected to field a strong lineup led by Vangelis Pavlidis, with Kostas Tsimikas and Christos Tzolis also likely to start.
Possible Lineups
Greece possible starting lineup:
Tzolakis; Vagiannidis, Retsos, Mavropanos, Tsimikas; Zafeiris, Kourbelis, Triantis; Tzolis; Douvikas, Pavlidis
Italy possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Fortini, Comuzzo, Ahanor, Bartesaghi; Ndour, Lipani, Pisilli; Fini, Esposito, Koleosho
How to Watch
| Platform | Details |
|---|---|
| TV Broadcast | SuperSport |
| Live Stream | DSTV Now |
| Kick-off Time | 20:00 (WAT) |
Match Prediction
Softfootball predicts Greece 2-1 Italy.
Both teams are rebuilding after painful World Cup failures, but Greece may hold a slight advantage with a more experienced and settled squad. Italy’s youthful side possess quality and energy, though inconsistency could still be an issue during this transition period.
