Greece - Italy live - Football

On 7 June 2026, Greece host Italy at Pankritio Stadium on the island of Crete in an international friendly that serves as Italy's first step towards rebuilding after failing to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time.

Match Info: Greece vs Italy

The match kicks off on Sunday, 7 June 2026, at 20:00 BST (19:00 UTC) at Pankritio Stadium in Crete, Greece, as part of the June international friendly window.

Where to Watch Greece vs Italy?

Viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch the match live on Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service holds the rights for both countries, with no linear TV option required.

Italian fans can tune in on Rai 1 for the free-to-air television broadcast, while Rai Play carries the live stream. In Greece, Alpha TV broadcasts the game. Across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, DAZN and DAZN1 hold the rights in their respective markets.

In the United States, the match is available on Fubo TV, Tubi and VIX online, and on Fubo Sports Network in linear TV. Viewers in Australia can watch via Stan Sport, while most of South America - including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia - can stream the game on Disney+.

Greece vs Italy - Match Preview

This June friendly in Crete is far more than routine: for Italy, it marks the opening chapter of a painful reconstruction after their third successive World Cup absence, while Greece arrive seeking to build on the momentum Ivan Jovanovic has instilled.

Italy's situation entering this match is extraordinary in the worst possible sense. Gennaro Gattuso resigned as head coach after the Azzurri lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off - a third consecutive failure to reach football's biggest stage. FIGC president Gabriele Gravina also stepped down in the fallout. Silvio Baldini has been appointed as caretaker for the June friendlies, with a permanent head coach to be named after the FIGC presidential election on 22 June 2026. Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri, Claudio Ranieri and Roberto Mancini are cited as the leading candidates.

Greece, by contrast, are a team with direction and identity. Under Jovanovic, they beat England 2:1 at Wembley in October 2024, one of the most significant results in Greek football history. They finished second in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group, where Scotland claimed the automatic berth, and closed out the qualifying campaign with a 3:2 win over Scotland in November 2025. Playing at home on Crete, Greece carry confidence into this fixture.

Head-to-Head: Greece vs Italy

The 2 most recent meetings between these sides, both in 2019 Euro 2020 qualifying, ended in convincing Italian victories: a combined score of 5-0 across 2 matches, with Italy scoring 5 and conceding none. That historical dominance sets the context, though the Italy of 2026 is operating under entirely different circumstances.

Below are the last recorded head-to-head meetings between Greece and Italy:

• 12 Oct 2019 - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying - Italy 2:0 Greece
• 08 Jun 2019 - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying - Greece 0:3 Italy

Greece - Recent Form

Greece recorded 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat in their last 5 matches, scoring 4 goals and conceding 5 - a picture of a competitive, hard-working side that is not yet consistent across all games.

The standout result was a 3:2 win over Scotland in November 2025, which demonstrated Greece's attacking capacity against quality opposition. Back-to-back goalless draws against Belarus and Hungary bracketed that result, while in March 2026 they suffered a 0:1 defeat to Paraguay in a friendly.

The lowest point in recent memory was a 1:3 loss to Denmark in October 2025, which ended their hopes of direct World Cup qualification from UEFA Group C. Nevertheless, the Greek team's trajectory under Jovanovic - culminating in that famous win at Wembley in 2024 - suggests a side capable of competing against top-tier opposition.

Italy - Recent Form

Italy posted 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats across their last 5 matches, with 9 goals scored and 6 conceded - numbers reflecting a team in transition, with genuine quality but alarming defensive fragility in difficult moments.

A 3:0 win over Israel in October 2025 and a 2:0 defeat of Northern Ireland in March 2026 showed that the Azzurri are capable of handling lesser opponents cleanly. However, the 1:4 collapse against Norway in November 2025 exposed deep structural problems, and the 1:1 draw with Bosnia in March 2026 - the same opponent who would eliminate them on penalties days later - proved costly.

With Baldini in temporary charge and a squad likely to feature several fringe players seeking to stake a claim for the post-Gattuso era, the match in Crete takes on the flavour of an audition as much as a friendly.

Facts and Statistics

4 key statistics ahead of the Greece vs Italy friendly on 7 June 2026:

• Italy scored 5 goals and conceded 0 across their last 2 head-to-head meetings with Greece (both in 2019).
• Italy have now missed 3 successive World Cups (2018, 2022, 2026) - the first time the four-time world champions have been absent from 3 consecutive tournaments.
• Silvio Baldini is Italy's caretaker coach; a permanent appointment is expected only after the FIGC presidential election on 22 June 2026.
• Greece, under Ivan Jovanovic, defeated England 2:1 at Wembley in October 2024 - one of the most celebrated results in the history of the Greek national team.