Italy to play Scotland at Ta’ Qali in May

The Italian national team will face Scotland in a friendly match ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016, at Ta' Qali stadium on 29 May, Italian media sources have confired.

The friendly is expected to draw a record crowd at Malta's national stadium, hosting home-grown fans of both the Italian national team, and surely some 'English' rivals who would relish in a Scotland win.

During that period, the Maltese national team will be at an Austrian training camp, where it will also play the Czech Republic and the Austrian national team.

The UEFA European Championship this year is the 15th edition of the football championship, to be held in Frabce from 10 June to 10 July. Spain are the two-time defending champions.

For the first time, the European Championship final tournament will be contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996. Under this new format, the finalists will contest a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage including three rounds and the final.

It will be the third time that France hosts the tournament, after the inaugural tournament in 1960 and the 1984 finals. The French team have won the European Championship twice: in 1984 and 2000.