7M - International Friendlies Preview: Greece vs Italy - prediction, team news, lineups

Having both failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, Greece and Italy will conclude their 2025-26 campaigns with an international friendly on Sunday.

The two teams will meet in Crete as they both look ahead to their next UEFA Nations League campaign, which begins in late September.

Match preview

Following another disappointing qualification campaign, fallen footballing giants Italy are launching a major rebuild, selecting a highly youthful squad for their first gathering since a dramatic exit in the World Cup playoffs. The Azzurri painfully missed out on a ticket to this summer's tournament in North America, beating Northern Ireland in the playoff semi-finals before suffering a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Despite lifting the European Championship trophy five years ago, the four-time world champions have not reached the World Cup finals since 2014. Following the rapid departure of Gennaro Gattuso, who was brought in during the qualifiers, Under-21 manager Silvio Baldini is currently managing La Nazionale on an interim basis until permanent appointments are made after the FIGC presidential elections later this month. Baldini led a squad largely consisting of uncapped prospects into Wednesday's friendly, where Inter Milan starlet Pio Esposito netted a second-half winner to beat Luxembourg. A trip to Heraklion now provides another ideal platform for fresh talent to gain experience before autumn's highly competitive Nations League group fixtures against France, Belgium, and Turkey.

Greece also missed out on the World Cup playoffs after a third-place finish in a qualifying group won by Scotland, meaning their last appearance at the global showpiece also dates back 12 years. Expectations were significantly higher for Ivan Jovanovic's side after a strong previous Nations League run, which included an impressive victory over England at Wembley.

However, a recent slump has put Jovanovic under notable pressure, especially after three consecutive winless friendlies. The Galanolefki suffered a home defeat to Paraguay and played out a scoreless stalemate in Hungary earlier this year, before requiring a dramatic 95th-minute close-range equalizer from Giorgios Masouras to salvage a draw against Sweden on Thursday. Although Kostas Tsimikas had put Greece ahead in Solna, the team capitulated to concede twice before the late rescue act. Greece have now managed just a single victory in their last eight matches leading up to Sunday's test, which serves as preparation for a daunting Nations League group featuring Germany, the Netherlands, and Serbia.

Team News

Within the experimental squad selected by Baldini, only captain Gianluigi Donnarumma, Pio Esposito, Niccolo Pisilli, and Marco Palestra had earned senior international caps prior to this window. Lorenzo Venturino was forced to withdraw from the camp through injury, and the promising Palestra sat out Wednesday's action with a minor thigh issue, resulting in 15 different players making their senior Azzurri debuts against Luxembourg. With the majority of Italy's established senior stars already on vacation, the 27-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper Donnarumma collected his 82nd cap and will line up behind an unseasoned defensive unit once more.

Conversely, Greece selected a practically full-strength lineup for their clash with Sweden. Benfica forward Vangelis Pavlidis captained the side in place of injured skipper Tasos Bakasetas. In search of a morale-boosting victory, Jovanovic is tipped to keep changes to a minimum, meaning key figures like Tsimikas and Christos Tzolis are poised to retain their starting spots. Meanwhile, Tasos Douvikas is pushing Andrews Tetteh for a place in the attacking line after a brilliant domestic season with Como, scoring 14 Serie A goals to help his club secure Champions League qualification.

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

Prediction: Greece 1-1 Italy

Despite a gap of 35 places in the FIFA world rankings, an experienced Greek squad should theoretically enter this match as favorites against an Italian team stripped of almost all senior personnel. However, the hosts' prolonged poor form over recent months suggests that a younger, highly motivated Azzurri side has a strong chance of fighting out a competitive draw in Crete.