CIRO IMMOBILE

Pope Francis is hoping that a charity soccer match that includes Swiss Guards, Vatican employees, priests, a player with Down syndrome, migrants and members of the Roma community will deal a significant “kick” to discrimination.

Italy will have to go through the playoffs once again in its bid to reach the World Cup.

It’s a match between teams who have almost forgotten what it feels like to lose.

Manuel Locatelli scored two goals and Italy beat Switzerland 3-0 to advance to the last 16 of the European Championship with a game to spare.

Roberto Mancini has turned Italy around after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the last World Cup.

Italy waited a long time for this European Championship to start and then showed just how eager the team was to play the tournament opener.

Italy will play Turkey in the opening game of the European Championship on Friday.

(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)ROME – Three years after an embarrassing failure to qualify for the World Cup, Italy is back in contention with the best in Europe. England, meanwhile, is already out of contention for the Nations League finals with one round of matches still to play. In all, more than 20 Italy players were unavailable due to the virus and injury. Jorginho converted a penalty for Italy midway through the first half after Andrea Belotti was brought down inside the area. WINNING WALESWales is the only unbeaten team in League B following a 1-0 win over Ireland, courtesy of David Brooks’ second-half header.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic trains in Carnago, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2020. The 38-year-old striker signed a deal with AC Milan until the end of the season with an option to extend for another year. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

9’s are back in vogue in Serie A. The last round of matches was a case in point, with a hat trick from Ronaldo and multiple goals from Lukaku, Immobile and Belotti. Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is only one game into his Serie A return with AC Milan. 9’s, his vertical moves have been in perfect synch with crossing specialists Sergej Milinković-Savić and Luis Alberto. Dubbed “LuLa,” the duo has scored 23 goals in Serie A this season — seven more than all of AC Milan.

Juventus' head coach Maurizio Sarri, right, gives instructions from the side line during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Juventus at Rome's Olympic stadium, in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The Serie A title race could come down to which team has the best strike force. PLAYER OF THE SEASON SO FARMartínez has burst onto the scene this season after a quiet debut campaign for Inter. Martínez and Lukaku’s partnership has been key to Inter reaching the top of the Serie A standings. It’s among the team's best starts since Luigi Riva led the club to its only Italian league title in 1970. Lazio has won the Serie A title twice in its history, the last time in 2000.