The Player Stats behind Italy's journey to the Final of Euro 2021

Italy came into this summer’s European Championships priced at 12/1 to lift their major trophy since the World Cup in 2006. After victory against Spain on Tuesday evening in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, the Azzurri are now just 5/6 to lift the Euro 2021 trophy on Sunday, however that price may change depending on the result of Wednesday’s second Semi-Final.

Here at BettingOdds.com we’ve taken a look at some of the top performers for Italy over the course of the tournament. We’ve looked at some metrics directly correlated with some of the most popular betting markets, along with some prices for players for the Player and Young Player of the Tournament awards.

Where have the goals come from?

Italy have found the back of the net on 12 occasions with only Spain having more with 13 in the tournament. Denmark have scored 11 heading into their game with England on Wednesday evening with Gareth Southgate’s side possessing the best conversion rate in the tournament of 22% after scoring eight goals from just 36 shots. 

The goals have been very much shared around between the Italy squad, with five players all having two to their name. 

2 - Ciro Immobile 

2 - Federico Chiesa

2 - Lorenzo Insigne

2 - Manuel Locatelli 

2 - Matteo Pessina

1 - Nicolo Barella

Best performers for the shots markets 

Despite having taken the most shots for Italy at the tournament Ciro Immobile has been one to avoid in the shots on target having failed to hit the target in all three of his knockout matches. Federico Chiesa was named man of the match in Italy’s victory against Spain on penalties and has registered a shot on target in all four of his appearances at Euro 2021 which was priced at 1/2 or bigger on all four occasions. 

Shots taken

17 - Ciro Immobile

13 - Lorenzo Insigne 

12 - Domenico Berardi

11 - Federico Chiesa 

7 - Leonardo Spinazzola 

5 - Andrea Belotti

5 - Nicolo Barella

4 - Manuel Locatelli

3 - Emerson

Shots on target

5 - Lorenzo Insigne

3 - Ciro Immobile

3 - Federico Chiesa

3 - Manuel Locatelli

2 - Domenico Berardi 

2 - Leonardo Spinazzola

2 - Matteo Pessina 

2 - Nicola Barella

2 - Andre Belotti

Who’s picked up the most cards

No player in the Italian squad has picked up more than one yellow card at Euro 2021. Six of their seven yellows have all been shown in the knockout stage of the tournament with Mancini’s men not brandished a yellow until their third game of the tournament.

1 - Domenico Berardi

1 - Giovanni Di Lorenzo

1 - Marco Verratti

1 - Matteo Pessina 

1 - Nicolo Barella

1 - Rafael Toloi 

1 - Leonardo Bonucci

Who’s been good to follow in the assist market?

Three players for Italy lead the way in the assists rankings at Euro 2021. Nicolo Barella, Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile all have two to their name. The latter may well be a suitable alternative to back for an assist in the final considering his poor record of failing to hit the target in his last three games. 

2 - Marco Veratti

2 - Nicolo Barella 

2 - Ciro Immobile

1 - Domenico Berardi

1 - Leonardo Spinazzola

1 - Rafael Toloi 

1 - Francesco Acerbi

Top Tacklers 

Several bookmakers such as bet365 now offer markets on the number of tackles a player will make in a game and having a look at the data for Italy over the tournament, it’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo who tops the pile. The 27-year-old has made 14 tackles for The Azzuri and is closely followed by Marco Verratti on 13.

14 - Giovanni Di Lorenzo

13 - Marco Veratti

9 - Jorginho

5 - Manuel Locatelli

4 - Nicolo Barella

4 - Rafael Toloi 

3 - Federico Chiesa

3 - Giorgio Chiellini

The clear favourite for Young Player of the Tournament

It’s quite remarkable that we are mentioning Italian Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma when talking about the Young Player of the Tournament considering he made his debut for the national side in 2016. Still at just the age of 22, Donnarumma has already made 34 appearances for Italy and looks set to have a massive career just like his predecessor before him Gianluigi Buffon who has a remarkable 176 caps.

After keeping clean sheets in all three of their group matches at this summer’s tournament, Donnarumma has made some big saves in the knockout stage and helped his side through a penalty shoot-out in the semis. As a result he’s now the odds-on favourite with Paddy Power at just 4/7 to be crowned the Young Player of the Tournament, an implied probability of 63.6%.

Dynamic Trio in Midfield 

Italy’s midfield three of Nicola Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti have performed exceptionally over the last month and the trio have all shortened considerably in the Player of the Tournament market. 

Jorginho struck the winning penalty against Spain in his trademark icecool style and is the shortest of the three to claim the award. The Chelsea midfielder is just 5/1 with Unibet who are taking no chances, although it may be worth shopping around with 10/1 currently on show from bet365.

Nicolo Barella wasn’t even priced up in this market pre-tournament but after a string of positive performances the 24-year-old can now be backed at 20/1. Marco Verratti has been a menace in midfield for Italy and after we recommended him at 100/1 in our five names to keep an eye on for the Player of the Tournament article, he’s now shortened right into 20/1 with the same bookmaker. 

Rocks at the Back

A pivotal part of the success of this Italian side has come from the heart of defence in the form of stalwarts Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The knowledge and know-how from the pair led to Italy becoming the first side in Euros history to win all three of their group games without conceding a single goal.

Leadership has also been a key attribute that has been shown by the pair, in particular from Chiellini, who now at the age 36 looks as hungry as ever with a commanding and crucial performance against Spain. At just 8/1 with bet365, Chiellini is now a strong contender for the Player of the Tournament award with his Juventus compatriot Bonucci a little bigger in the market at 20/1.

Unfortunate Spinazzola 

28-year-old Leonardo Spinazzola was unfortunate to pick up an achilles injury in Italy’s quarter-final game with Belgium that could see him sidelined for over six months. Football really is a cruel game at times with the Roma left-back now an onlooker for the final after some terrific performances in the tournament. 

Spinazzola was named UEFA Man of the Match in the opening game of Euro 2021 against Turkey with an assist in a match where he was a constant threat down the left. Spinazzola also hit two shots on target against Turkey which was priced at an attractive 22/1 with Betfair, with him also registering a shot in each of his four appearances.

The Final

In a matter of hours Italy will know who they will face in Sunday’s final with Mancini’s men currently priced at 5/6 to lift the trophy. A meeting with Denmark would suit them a lot more but a clash with England is what we all here at BettingOdds.com are hoping and praying for with the Three Lions 1/3 to make that happen.