Success In Bringing Italy 3-0 Down To Switzerland, Mancini Says France, Portugal And Belgium Are More Favorites To Win

JAKARTA - Roberto Mancini says France, Portugal, and Belgium should be seen as favorites to win Euro 2020 and they are ahead of Italy, although the Azzurri managed to record a second straight win after thrashing Switzerland 3-0 in Rome on Wednesday.

Manuel Locatelli was impressive with his two goals and Ciro Immobile completed the third as Italy became the first team to seal their place in the knockout stages while extending Italy's unbeaten run to 29 games in all competitions.

The way they scored wins over Turkey and Switzerland has raised hopes among Italian fans that they can go further in the competition this summer.

"France, Portugal, and Belgium are all at the Euros," Mancini said at his post-match news conference.

"One is the world champion, one is the European champion and the other is ranked number one in the world."

"They have been built over the years and are further than us in team development. But anything can happen in football."

He added: "There is room for improvement. We have some young players who haven't even played in the European Cup at club level, so they have huge room to develop"

Italy has made it through to the last 16, but they will face their final Group A game against Wales at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday and will drop to second place if they lose.

Mancini's men will lose captain Giorgio Chiellini to an injury in the first half and he has been asked whether the players will be rested or rotated for their final group game.

"We will see how the players are because it is a difficult game. There are some players who are very tired. We will see over the next few days and then we will decide," said Mancini.