From Serie B to Euro 2020, Italy players shaped by Zeman

• Turkey seeks crowd-pleasing win over Wales after Italy loss • Finland plays Russia with knockout stage in reach

A 74-year-old chain-smoking Czech coach might have made just as much of an impact on this Italy squad as Roberto Mancini has.

Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne and Marco Verratti each had breakout seasons under Zdeněk Zeman in Serie B nearly a decade ago at Pescara, where they learned an attacking philosophy that they're currently employing at the European Championship.

Italy's third goal in its 3-0 win over Turkey in the Euro 2020 tournament opener was a case in point, as Immobile hardly even looked when he slotted a pass between two defenders to set up Insigne for one of his preferred curled shots.

Just like at Pescara in 2011-12, when Immobile scored 28 goals and Insigne had 18.

Many of those goals were set up by an 18-year-old midfielder named Verratti, who after helping Pescara win Serie B and gain promotion bypassed Serie A and went directly to developing European powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain despite never before having played in a top division.

Having missed the game against Turkey as he works his way back from a right knee injury, Verratti is expected to take a spot on Italy's bench for Wednesday's second Group A game against Switzerland.

Verratti showed that he was ready during a training match between Italy's reserves and Pescara's youth team on Saturday. He even wore a Pescara shirt for a portion of the scrimmage.

If Turkey wins or draws against Wales earlier Wednesday, Italy could already wrap up first place in the group by beating Switzerland. At the very least, the Azzurri are hoping to secure a spot in the last 16.

Switzerland, meanwhile, needs points after drawing 1-1 with Wales in its opener.

Switzerland coach Vladimir Petković faces a question in attack, with substitute Mario Gavranović having performed better in the final minutes against Wales than the man he replaced, Haris Seferović, did during the rest of the match. One of them should line up alongside fellow striker Breel Embolo, who scored against Wales.

The game in Rome marks a homecoming of sorts for Petković, who led Lazio to a memorable win over Roma in an Italian Cup final at the Stadio Olimpico in 2013. Petković celebrated what remains his only elite trophy by taking hold of Lazio's mascot, a live eagle named Olimpia, and prancing around the stadium.

Lazio fans still celebrate the 1-0 victory at every home match, cheering in the 71st minute to recall Senad Lulić's goal from the game. Graffiti remains all over Rome that says simply, "Lulic 71."

Petković might want to stop and show his squad an example of the graffiti for inspiration because it's clearly going to require an inspired performance against an Italy squad that is unbeaten in 28 matches, has kept nine straight clean sheets and is playing at home.

While Mancini does employ a Zeman-like 4-3-3 lineup that often puts forth five attacking players at once, Italy is much more solid in defense than any Zeman team.

While Pescara scored a whopping 90 goals in 2011-12 with Immobile and Insigne leading the way — 30 more than any other squad in that Serie B season — it also conceded 55 in 42 matches. That's exactly how Zeman likes it in his all-out attacking system that leaves virtually nothing behind — which has been labeled "Zemanlandia."

Italy, by contrast, has scored 82 goals and conceded only 14 in 33 games under Mancini.

Still, Zeman likes what he sees. "I'm convinced that Italy can go very far," he said. "And while it's difficult to say exactly where they might end up, if they go far it will be a product of this choral play and the technical feeling of some of its (players)."

Turkey seeks crowd-pleasing win over Wales after Italy loss

Turkey will be expecting a big boost from a supportive crowd in Baku, and they might just need it.

After a 3-0 loss to Italy without even a shot on target, Turkey will face a Wales team looking to build on its opening draw when the teams meet Wednesday at the European Championship.

Azerbaijan is an ally of Turkey and the two countries have close cultural ties, so a large delegation of traveling fans and local Turkey supporters are expected. A quiet, mostly empty venue for Wales' 11 draw with Switzerland could now have an intimidating awaygame atmosphere.

Wales is expecting it.

Turkey came into the tournament with high hopes and a string of players coming off good seasons at club level. Burak Yilmaz and Zeki Çelik won the French title with Lille, while Hakan Calhanoglu had a strong season with AC Milan, as did Çağlar Söyüncü with Leicester.

That optimism evaporated quickly against Italy. The 35-yearold Yilmaz couldn't find space among the Italy defense and didn't have the pace to unsettle the back line. Turkey clung on until the 53rd minute, when Merih Demiral scored an own-goal.

Turkey's attacking efforts amounted to one shot off target and two blocked.

Turkey's population is estimated at about 84 million, or 26 times that of Wales, one of the biggest gulfs in size between any two teams at Euro 2020. Being one of the tournament's smaller teams means Wales is used to playing as the underdog. Morrell said that builds the kind of team spirit which took the Welsh to the Euro 2016 semifinals.

Finland plays Russia with knockout stage in reach

Lost, perhaps, in the drama surrounding Christian Eriksen's collapse during Denmark's game against Finland at the European Championship was the result after play resumed.

The Finns, playing in their first ever game at a major soccer tournament, won 1-0 in Copenhagen.

It will likely go down as one of the most overlooked scorelines in the history of the tournament, given what had happened to Eriksen. Indeed, Finland captain Tim Sparv said there were barely any celebrations in the dressing room.

Maybe Finland can now start to get excited.

A place in the knockout stage at Euro 2020 is within reach and will be guaranteed with a win over Russia on Wednesday.

That hasn't happened in more than a century — since a 2-1 victory at the Olympic soccer tournament in 1912, when Finland was under the control of Russia — but the Finns might not have a better chance to end that long wait.

Russia was beaten by Belgium 30 in its opening game in Group B, tying its biggest loss at a European Championship, and has won only three of its last 12 matches.

Injuries contributed to two of the five substitutions made by Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov by the 63rd minute of the game against Belgium, but the fact he used up his maximum allocation of changes so early indicated his discontentment and that he might not be so sure of his best team.

Finland, on the other hand, has a small, tight-knit group of players who know their roles inside-out under the guidance of Markku Kanerva, a former primary school teacher. And confidence can only be high after securing the biggest win in the country's history against Denmark.

The estimated 5,000 Finland fans expected to be part of the limited capacity of 30,500 inside the stadium in St. Petersburg, a city less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Finnish border, should travel in good heart.

Sparv said his fitness is improving after being sidelined for two months because of knee problems, and he managed to play 75 minutes against Denmark.

Finland defender Joona Toivio did not take part in a training session on Monday because of a sore toe but is expected to be in the team.

The pressure is on Russia to win, especially since the team finishes group play with a trip to Copenhagen to play Denmark.

Daler Kuzyaev trained with the rest of the squad on Monday after going off midway through the first half against Belgium following a clash of heads. Yuri Zhirkov was also withdrawn before halftime of that match with an unspecified injury.

Cristiano Ronaldo's record-setting day came in front of the first packed crowd of this year's European Championship.

The Portugal great set the record for most career goals at the tournament in the 87th minute from the penalty spot and then added another in injury time to give the defending champions a 3-0 victory over Hungary on Tuesday.

Ronaldo's goals, however, weren't the only interesting part of the game. On the fifth day of the Euro 2020 tournament, this was the first match played in a full stadium.

The 67,215-capacity Puskas Arena was packed with mostly Hungarian fans, and they made their presence known throughout the match. Hungary is the only one of the 10 countries hosting matches at the tournament to allow full crowds.

That gave Ronaldo plenty of witnesses to history.

"The important thing was to win," Ronaldo said. "It was a difficult game, against an opponent who defended very well, but we scored three goals, and I am very grateful to the team for helping me to score two goals."

The Juventus forward was playing in his fifth European Championship, dating back to Euro 2004. He entered this year's edition even with Michel Platini at nine goals, but that only lasted 87 minutes.

The 36-year-old Ronaldo also became the only player to score at five consecutive European Championships.

Ronaldo scored his first goal after Rafa Silva was fouled by Willi Orban in the area and the referee whistled for a penalty. Ronaldo, who had missed an easy chance near the end of the first half, shot to the right of goal and got his record.

The second came when he combined with Silva in front of goal and then skipped around Hungary keeper Peter Gulacsi before rolling the ball into an empty net with his left foot.

Ronaldo broke the scoring record at a stadium named after another great scorer, Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarian was arguably the finest finisher of the 1950s, scoring 84 goals in 85 games for his country. He also played for Real Madrid, just like Ronaldo once did.

He is also now only three behind former Iran striker Ali Daei's men's record of 109 international goals.

Portugal defender Raphael Guerreiro scored the opening goal three minutes before Ronaldo's first with a shot that deflected off a defender and wrong-footed Gulacsi.

The fans made the most of their attendance and the resounding noise went up several levels when Hungary nearly took the lead in the 80th minute.

Substitute Szabolcs Schon cut inside from the right and planted a low shot into the corner of the net. But the goal was ruled out because Schon was offside when he ran onto the pass.

Hungary's most vocal support congregated behind one of the goals and were relentless in their devotion.

"If we were able to play as well as they support us and cheer us on then I think we would probably win more matches," Hungary coach Marco Rossi said through a translator. "But we gave it everything."

Portugal's red-shirted and flagwaving followers filled a small section behind where their goalkeeper started the match.

"It was amazing. Football without a crowd, I don't even think I have an expression for that," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. "But I need to thank the 4,000 Portugal fans who were here because I heard them more than anything else."

Hungary will have the crowd again on Saturday against World Cup champion France, while Portugal heads to Munich to face Germany.

"It was essential to start on the right foot to give us confidence," Ronaldo said. "Now it is necessary to continue like this and win the next game."