Italy 1-0 Wales: summary, score, goals, highlights | Euro 2020
Italy 1-0 Wales: as it happened
The whistle goes and the Stadio Olimpico erupts. Italy have to be considered genuine contenders for the title after cruising through the group with seven goals scored and none conceded.
And that's it! Italy win 1-0 in Rome to top the group and equal the Azzurri's record for consecutive games unbeaten (30), while Wales hang on to go through in second.
Ward! Another fine save from the Wales keeper. That shot came through a sea of legs and he had to parry it out of the parth of the lurking Belotti.
Three minutes added
Donnarumma off for Salvatore Sirigu to get a few minutes on the pitch.
Belotti! He probably deserves a goal today and he stings Ward's hands with a fierce shot on the turn.
Pessina off for Italy, Gaetano Castrovilli on for his third cap.
Bale is off for David Brooks. Williams for Davies and Allen for Levitt.
Wales hook it clear but it's into empty space in the Italy half. Both sides are sardined in the Wales half as the clock ticks down. Rob Page decides to make some subs to take the pressure off.
Corner for Italy as Chiesa's shot is deflected behind. Wales are clinging on now and just trying to avoid conceding any more.
Gunter and Pessina both go in the book for a tussle.
Italy break but the final ball from Toloi is hit behind with the Atalanta defender at full stretch just to get to it.
Bale! Rodon nods the ball across the box to the Wales captain, who flashes a shot over from close range!
Daniel James off for Wales, Harry Wilson on. Italy bring on Bryan Cristante and Giacomo Raspadori with Jorginho and Bernardeschi making way.
It's a decent delivery as well and Acerbi is inches away from getting his head to it!
Another corner for Italy, with a couple of changes imminent for the home side.
It's all Italy at the moment and it's increasingly difficult to see where Wales will nick a goal from if they need one.
It's now Switzerland 3-1 Turkey!
Emerson turns and shoots and Ramsey makes a vital block. Another corner for Italy...
Good news for Wales fans... Turkey have pulled one back against Switzerland.
Bastoni! The Inter defender meets the corner at the near post but can't get his header on target.
Belotti! Chiesa finds himself alone in the area on the right and pulls it back for the Torino striker, whose effort is expertly saved by Ward!
Jorginho trips Moore as he looks to break from the Wales half with most of Italy forward. A necessary tactical foul from the wily Chelsea man.
Joe Morrell heads off for Wales as Rob Page sends on Kieffer Moore to give 10-man Wales someone to aim at.
Things are suddenly looking a bit sticky for Wales... still 2-0 to Switzerland in Baku.
Straight red for Ampadu! The Wales midfielder can't have too many complaints as he slams his foot down on the top of Bernardeschi's boot.
Ramsey! A mix-up in the Italy defence sees the Juve midfielder alone practically on the goal line but Donnarumma does just enough to force him to turn and look for support that wasn't there.
Bernardeschi onto the post! An elaborate training ground routine culminates in a cracking strike from the Juve forward, which beats the wall and Ward but not the wood.
Joe Allen goes in the book for clattering into Verratti. He didn't have much choice there as the PSG midfielder was clean through.
Bale is bundled off the ball again, this time by Bernardeschi. Free kick to Wales.
Francesco Acerbi on for Bonucci at the break.
Back underway!
All square on points between Wales and Switzerland and only superior goal difference seeing Wales through at the moment. If the Swiss keep knocking them in, things could get edgy in Rome.
10 shots from Italy in the first half, just two from Wales, with only one on target.
And that's the half! Nothing added on after a very well contested first period.
Wales are trying to build again to launch an attack but Italy look pretty comfortable now having taken the lead.
Italy nearly have another! A long ball is knocked fairly hopefully into the area and it runs straight through, missing ther far post by a whisker!
It's a training ground job as the ball is whipped across the box and the Atalanta midfielder gets in front of the defence to glance it past Ward!
Italy now have a free kick on the edge of the area as Verratti is floored. Decent chance for a set-piece here.
Verratti spies an opening and sends a ball over the Wales back four for Belotti but it's just a tad overhit and Ward comes out to gather.
Another Wales free kick as Bale is again sent to the turf in midfield. It's floated towards Rodon, who gets a header on target but Donnarumma deals with it comfortably.
Joe Allen spots the danger of a Bernardeschi break and nicks the ball back to Ward. Good anticipation from the Stoke midfielder.
Belotti! Another chance for the striker and Ethan Ampadu does extremely well to avoid sticking that in his own net. Instead it's out for a corner.
Switzerland 2-0 up against Turkey now...
Gunter! So close for Wales... the Charlton defender rises to meet a corner at the near post and his header is inches away from creeping past Donnarumma.
Belotti! A fine ball around the back of the Wales defence sees the Torino striker in but he flashes his effort across the face of goal from a tight angle.
Another Italy attack breaks down as the final ball goes straight to a red shirt.
Bale is being put through the ringer in Rome and this time it's Bastoni who floors the Wales captain.
Here's a look at Group A as it stands... Wales will go through even if they lose unless Switzerland score a few more.
Ward! Good reactions from the Leicester keeper there as Matteo Pessina's shot takes a deflection and almost catches him out.
Emerson! The Chelsea defender drives forward and hits a stinging shot but it's straight at Ward and the Wales keeper makes a routine stop.
A lovely ball from Alessandro Bastoni finds Belotti at the far stick but the Torino striker can't guide his effort on target as he stretches to meet the delivery.
Italy knock it about it in midfield and then try to go over the top, Stallone style, but the ball bobs out on the far side for a Wales goal kick.
In the other Group A game, Switzerland have taken an early lead.
Lots of intent from both sides in the early salvoes but not much in the way of a goal threat from either yet.
Bale skips through two challenges before Marco Verratti sends the Wales captain flying.
Plenty of boots flying around in midfield as both sides try to get settled on the ball.
Here we go! Italy get the ball rolling in Rome!
Here we go with the anthems!
Plenty of fans in the Stadio Olimpico and the atmosphere is electric. There's a lot of expecation around this Italy side now.
Gareth Bale will earn his 95th cap for Wales today, taking him to within one of Wayne Hennessy (who is on the bench) and six short of Chris Gunter's all-time Wales record of 101 with the veteran Charlton defender also adding to his tally this afternoon.
Wales starting XI confirmed
No major surprises from Wales but Ben Davies and Kieffer Moore, scorer of the equalizer against Switzerland, drop to the bench for this afternoon's game. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey combined well in the Turkey game and will lead from the front again with Daniel James on the wing and Joe Allen in support.
Italy starting XI confirmed
Mancini has decided to rest some of his key players for this one, with the impressive Spinazzola and Locatelli left out along with Chiellini, Immobile, Insigne and Barella.
Coming in are the likes of Torino striker Andrea Belotti, Juve winger Federico Bernardeschi and PSG midfielder Marco Verratti, who was unfit for the opening two games. Quite a bench to call on.
At the back, Alessandro Bastoni earns his sixth Italy cap and Rafael Tolói his fifth.
Of course Wales will fancy their chances of bringing that run to an end in Rome. The Dragons were impressive in their last outing against Turkey, a 2-0 win in which Gareth Bale was afforded the luxury of missing a penalty, which he does not do very often.
Wales surprised the continent with their run to the semis at Euro 2016 and while Mancini has set that goal for his side, Wales have a decent shout of making at least the quarters given the last 16 line-ups.
The winner of Group A will play the runners-up in Group C, which looks very likely to be either Ukraine or Austria, while the runners-up in Italy and Wales' group will play the side that finishes second in Group B - either Russia or Finland in all probability.
If Italy win or draw today, Mancini's side will equal the Azzurri's longest-ever unbeaten run of 30 games, set between November 1935 and July 1939.
The last time these sides met was in a European Championship qualifier in September 2003, when arch-poacher Filippo Inzaghi helped himself to his only hat-trick at international level in a 4-0 victory.
Italy came into the tournament as a bit of a dark horse, having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. However, Roberto Mancini's side have certainly presented their credentials on home soil so far.
Mancini's side have won both of their Euro 2020 fixtures 3-0 to take their current run to 10 consecutive wins without conceding a goal - a total of 965 minutes.
In today's other game Switzerland and Turkey will aim to try and finish third to give them some hope of progressing to the knock-out stages. If Italy beat Wales, Switzerland could still finish second in the group, but Vladimir Petkovic's side would have to thrash Turkey to overturn Wales' superior goal difference.
It seems like only a few days ago that the strains of Nessun Dorma were ringing out across this same stadium to mark the opening game of the 2020 Euros, but here we are already at the business end of the group stages.
The maths is fairly simple (thankfully) for this one: Italy are already through to the last 16 and a draw will do Wales to join them.
Italy vs Wales: welcome
Hello and welcome to AS English's live coverage of the Euro 2020 Group A match between Italy and Wales from the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Kick-off is at 18:00 CEST.