Italy U19 vs Norway U19 prediction 15.07.2024

• Competition: EURO U19
• Date: Monday, 15th July, 2024
• Kickoff: 15:30 UK / 16:30 CEST
• Venue: Seaview (Belfast)

On Monday afternoon, another EURO U19 will begin. In the tournament's first game, last year's champions, Italy, will face off against Norway at Seaview in Belfast.

Last year, Italy weren't among the favorites to win the EURO U19 titles, but they pulled it off after beating favored Spain and Portugal in the Semis and Finals. This year, Italy U19 had far from impressive first stage of Qualifiers as they barely came out of the group. Still, as time progressed, Italy only looked better and impressed in the second stage of Qualifiers, beating Scotland U19, Czech Republic U19, and Georgia U19. They are entering the tournament in really good form, and all football pundits expect them to come out of Group A as the first-placed team.

Norway U19 had a very good EURO U19 last year, reaching the Semi-Finals, where Portugal U19 eventually beat them. After the tournament, Norway U19 had excellent Qualifiers, as they won five of six games (in both qualification phases combined). To be fair, they did have a pretty easy route, but it was still an impressive run, and they have every reason to be optimistic about the upcoming tournament.

Italy U19 vs Norway U19 pick: Over 2.5 goals

Italy U19 have been really imppressive in the second phase of the qualifiers winning all three games with ten scored goals - 3.33 per game. So, it is fair to expect another good offensive display. If we look further back, Italy we can see Italy U19 played only high-scoring games and were over 2.5 goals in nine of the last ten games in all competitions.

Norway U19 also did very well offensively in recent games, as they scored two goals per game in all three matches in the second stage of the qualifiers. Similarly to Italy U19, Norway U19 also played mostly high-scoring games and were over 2.5 goals in 11 of the last 12 games.

Both teams had a similar pattern of high-scoring games in the previous period. Considering that and the fact both teams impressed offensively in recent matches, an over 2.5 goals bet should be the best option for this EURO U19 opening game.