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Italy begin their UEFA Nations League campaign on Friday night when they host Bosnia-Herzegovina in Florence, as Roberto Mancini looks to ensure his side put on a better performance in the competition than they did last time.
Italy won just one of their four Nations League games in the previous edition of the competition, with eventual champions Portugal qualifying for the knockout stages from their group, which also included Poland.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the other hand, will be playing in League A for the first time, after they won promotion from League B. In the last edition, the Bosnians were grouped with Austria and Northern Ireland and managed to pick up 10 points from four games.
This is the first international outing for both teams since November 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic putting a halt to football just before the international break in March, and eventually leading to the postponement of UEFA Euro 2020 to next summer.
Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Head-to-Head
Italy have faced the Bosnians only three times, but lost the first meeting between the sides in a friendly in 1996.
However, what is of significance is that the Azzurri faced Bosnia-Herzegovina in the qualifiers for Euro 2020 and ran out winners on both occasions.
The last game between the two, played in Sarajevo in November 2019, saw Mancini's side romp home to a 3-0 win, with goals from Francesco Acerbi, Andrea Bellotti and Lorenzo Insigne.
The earlier game in June, which was played at the Juventus Stadium, ended 2-1 in favour of the Italians, but only after Edin Dzeko gave the Bosnians the early lead. Goals from Insigne and Marco Verratti ensured that there were no wounds to heal from that night for Italy.
Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Team News
Italy
Italy do have a few important players injured or unavailable for this game, with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Verratti the most high-profile name missing from the squad. Lazio's Acerbi has also not made the squad for this Nations League double-header, which will see Italy travel to Amsterdam to take on the Netherlands.
Federico Bernardeschi withdrew from the side after being called up initially, while Napoli skipper Insigne has been ruled out with an ankle problem.
Italy, though, do still have the experience of the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci to call upon, while Ciro Immobile recently broke the record for the most Serie A goals scored in a single season.
Mancini handed out first call-ups to Inter Milan's promising young centre-back Alessandro Bastoni and the Sassuolo duo of midfielder Manuel Locatelli and striker Francesco Caputo.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
For the Bosnians, their all-time top-scorer Dzeko is once again expected to shoulder a majority of the attacking burden, but the likes of Edin Visca and Armin Hodzic could help take some of the load off Dzeko's shoulders.
Everton's Muhamed Besic, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield United, will feature in the midfield, while Arsenal's Sead Kolasinac will play at left-back.
Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Predicted XIs
Italy (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Alessandro Bastoni, Cristiano Biraghi; Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Roberto Gagliardini; Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Nicolo Zaniolo
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-3-3): Asmir Begovic; Eldar Civic, Ermin Bicakcic, Toni Sunjic, Sead Kolasinac; Haris Duljevic, Muhamed Besic, Gojko Cimirot; Armin Hodzic, Edin Dzeko, Edin Visca
Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Predictions
Even with some players having pulled out of the Italy squad, there is enough quality in Mancini's side for them to be able to overcome the Bosnian challenge.
Dzeko's presence and goal-scoring prowess could present a problem for them, but in their ranks, they have one of Europe's best goal-scorers in Immobile.
With youngsters like Zaniolo, Barella and Bastoni to complement the experienced players in the likes of Bonucci, Jorginho and Immobile, Italy have an exciting squad, and they will look to begin an important year of international football on the right note.
Prediction: Italy 3-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
