The European Championship is just around the corner and now is the perfect time to begin looking at the groups and making our predictions. We begin with Group A and this consists of Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales.
Italy and Turkey will kick off the European Championship in Rome and the Italians will have home advantage throughout the group.
Each of the other three competing nations will be forced to travel at some point during the group whereas Italy will remain at home and that has to give the Azzurri an advantage.
The Stadio Olimpico will be at 25% of its normal capacity for the group games but that will still see close to 20,000 fans inside the stadium to cheer on the Italians.
Italy were handed a relatively straight forward group in terms of qualification but they delivered a superb performance throughout the campaign to finish top of their group.
In fact, Italy won all 10 of their qualifying fixtures, conceding only 4 goals across the 10 games. There is a good balance of experience and youth in their squad and it is difficult to see any other team as the group winner.
That leaves one guaranteed qualifying spot for three teams and Turkey could be the team which finishes as runner up in Group A.
The Turks have produced a tremendous start to their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign as they defeated Netherlands 4-2 at home and Norway 3-0 away but were quickly brought back down to earth by Latvia, who picked up a point at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in a 3-3 draw.
Turkey were inconsistent throughout their latest Nations League campaign and finished bottom having picked up just one victory from 6 games.
The fact two of their matches will be played at the Olympic Stadium, Baku could play into their hands as the venue will be at 50% of its normal capacity and the majority of the fans inside the stadium will be backing the Turkish team.
However, Switzerland and Wales will have something to say and both teams are capable of claiming second place in this group. The Swiss topped a tough group containing Denmark, Republic of Ireland, and Georgia.
Their Nations League campaign was not great but they did manage to pick up draws against Germany and Spain in what was an extremely difficult group. The Swiss made a solid start to their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign and will believe they have what it takes to claim second place.
Wales will be looking back at the previous European Championship with fond memories as they reached the semi-final. Their group in that tournament was easier than what they are going to face this time around.
The Welsh finished second in their qualifying group behind Croatia and have since won their Nations League B group ahead of Finland, Republic of Ireland, and Bulgaria, remaining undefeated in the process.
The 1-0 win over Czech Republic in World Cup qualifying leaves them in a decent position and this is Welsh team with talented players, including Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. Wales do not lose many games but they may not get the number of wins required to finish second in this group.
Home
Football 
Basketball
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
