Italy took a big step towards qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Nations League thanks to its victory against Israel 4-1 (half-time: 1-0) on Monday in Udine (north-east). With its ten points in four matches, the Nazionale is on track to finish in one of the first two places in group A2, since it is ahead of Belgium, 3rd after its defeat against France (2-1), by six points.
He will have to pocket a point in November, against Belgium on November 14 in Brussels or against France three days later at San Siro to have his ticket for the quarterfinals of the League of Nations and the status of top seed for the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. But this post-Euro-2024 Italy, which has not lost since its pitiful elimination in the round of 16 of the German tournament, wants to make an impression and will not be satisfied with the minimum in November. Four days after their draw against Belgium (2-0) in Rome after leading 2-0, then losing their footing after the exclusion of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Italy dominated the match from start to finish.
Luciano Spaletti and his men have almost finished the job in the Nations League
Credit: Getty Images
Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer delayed the inevitable for a long time, stopping a shot from Mateo Retegui (15th) perfectly launched by Giovanni Di Lorenzo or stopping against Sandro Tonali (18th). When Glazer looked beaten, it was the Italian attackers who missed the last move, like in the 30th minute when Federico Dimarco’s fleeing cross was caught at the far post by Retegui, but the Italian international narrowly missed the target.
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Retegui, however, did not miss the penalty whistled for a gross foul by captain Dor Peretz on Tonali (39th). With his sixth national goal, Retegui, co-top scorer in Serie A, is perhaps becoming the answer to Italy’s recurring lack of offensive realism. Di Lorenzo doubled the lead by heading a free kick from Raspadori, then Davide Frattesi responded to the reduction in the Israeli score (66th). Di Lorenzo added a fourth goal with a long-range strike in the 79th minute.
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With this clear advantage, Luciano Spalletti was able to offer Daniel Maldini, 21, his first selection in azzurro under the eyes of his illustrious father, Paolo Maldini. “We created a lot of chances, we could have scored more, but we had a good match (…) We still have two difficult matches to play, we have to continue this momentum.”analyzed the Italian coach.
We created a lot of chances, we could have scored more, but we had a good game
This match, played in front of 11,700 spectators, was surrounded by important, very strict security measures with a so-called zone “rouge” exclusion around the stadium put in place 48 hours before kick-off due to the war in the Middle East. In the afternoon, around a hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered under heavy police surveillance in the streets of Udine. This rally, during which calls for the suspension of the Israeli federation were called for, took place smoothly.
