Greece vs Italy LIVE: End of first half! (0–1)

At the end of the first half, Italy lead Greece 1–0 thanks to a goal from Pio Esposito.

Three more minutes of added time are being played.

Koleosho and Bartesaghi are causing problems down the flanks, but with inaccurate crosses.

The match heats up after a clash between Ahanor and Tzolis, quickly defused by the referee.

We are slowly approaching the end of a first half in which goal-scoring chances have been virtually nonexistent.

Pio Esposito, the goalscorer, had another chance, but without posing any real danger. Lipani receives the first yellow card of the match.

The final ten minutes of a first half with few goal-scoring chances are underway.

Donnarumma looks like a mere spectator.

The heat appears to be playing a significant role in the level of play.

The first cooling break of the match is underway. Both coaches are giving instructions.

Greece stick to a 4-4-2 formation and look to hit Italy on the counterattack.

Halfway through the first half, Italy are in control of possession and, at the moment, look like the deserved leaders.

Little from Greece so far.

Esposito received the ball inside the box and, with a right-footed finish, opened the scoring.

Italy take control of the ball, but with harmless backward passes.

Pisilli is the one most willing to shoot from outside the box.

After the first 10 minutes, both teams are still in the early stages of assessment. Italy look more active in attack.

With composure, the home side try to build up slowly. The home fans’ support echoes down from the stands.

Italy are showing early intent to take control of possession.

Ekhator had the first chance, but without clear danger.

After both national anthems were played, Greece and Italy are now underway in this friendly.

Follow the live minute-by-minute coverage here on Bolavip.

Everything is set for the start of the friendly between Greece and Italy. 

The home team will wear blue, while the visitors will be in all white.

For this match, goalkeeper and captain Donnarumma stands out as a key figure, following the major squad overhaul after Italy’s elimination in the latest qualifiers.

Gennaro Gattuso is no longer the head coach either, having resigned after the match against Bosnia.

Both teams are going through their pre-match warm-ups, awaiting the start of the game.

The head-to-head record between the two teams favors Italy. In 12 meetings, the Azzurri have won seven times, with four draws and just one victory for Greece.

The last meeting between the two sides took place on October 12, 2019, in a UEFA European Championship qualifier. On that occasion, Italy secured a 2–0 victory.

Silvio Baldini, manager of the Azzurri, has selected the following starting XI to begin the match:

Gianluigi Donnarumma; Honest Ahanor, Pietro Comuzzo, Fabio Chiarodia, Davide Bartesaghi; Niccolò Pisilli, Luca Lipani, Cher Ndour; Luca Koleosho, Sebastiano Esposito, Jeff Ekhator.

These are the 11 players Ivan Jovanović will send onto the field to start the match:

Odisseas Vlachodimos; Pantelis Hatzidiakos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Panagiotis Retsos; Giorgos Kyriakopoulos, Georgios Vagiannidis, Christos Mouzakitis, Nectarios Triantis; Christos Tzolis; Giorgos Masouras, Anastasios Douvikas.

The match will be played at Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion. Fans in the United States can watch the game live on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, Fubo, and ViX.

The officials for this match are all from Israel. Yigal Frid will serve as the referee, assisted by Rostislav Talis and Tuval Koltunoff, while Dimitrios Moschou will be the fourth official. Daniel Bar Natan will oversee VAR duties, with Nati Dotan serving as the assistant VAR (AVAR).

Welcome to another Bolavip live blog, where we’ll bring you minute-by-minute coverage of everything that happens in the international friendly between the Greece and Italy.

Neither of these teams managed to qualify for the next World Cup, so this match could serve as a test for the coaches to try out players and think about what lies ahead.