An Italy lineup with suicidal tendencies dilapidated a two-goal lead on Thursday night as they were held to a tie by Belgium in the third matchday of the Nations League. But they showed once again that they are well on track toward redemption after the summer Euro-disaster.
Luciano Spalletti’s Italy had a scintillating start at the Stadio Olimpico and built a two-goal cushion thanks to Andrea Cambiaso and Mateo Retegui, both inspired by a Federico Dimarco touched by grace.
But then, Lorenzo Pellegrini’s foolish tackle on Arthur Theate resulted in the Roma stalwart seeing red just before half time, offering the Diables Rouges a comfortable chance to halve the gap from the subsequent free kick with Maxim De Cuyper. Leandro Trossard made it two for the visitors in the second period as the Azzurri were forced to slow down and switch to defensive mode.
Italy thus lost the chance to consolidate their lead in Group 2 of the Nations League as France now only trail by one. However, Luciano Spalletti can be happy about the Azzurri‘s performance, net of Pellegrini’s madness.
The Tuscany-born coach deployed the same lineup that stunned France at the Parc des Princes early in September and, can you blame him? Italy’s first 30 minutes were flawless. This time (finally!), it was the Azzurri to score in the first minute, and they did so in a spectacular fashion – a quick combination of passes that took the Belgian backline by surprise.
Sandro Tonali triggered Dimarco, the Inter wingback exchanged the ball with Retegui and served Cambiaso at the far post. The Juventus man slotted it home despite Koen Casteels’ desperate saving attempt. Belgium’s Giovanni Tedesco was shocked. What did just happen?
The Diables Rouges had no answer and Italy made it two on 24 minutes. Dimarco once again whipped the ball to the right side of the pitch for Cambiaso, who ended his dash along his side with a tricky diagonal shot, forcing Casteels into an ineffective save. Retegui was quick to pounce on the rebound, adding another one to his Azzurri scoring tally.
Sure, this Belgium had no Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, or Romelu Lukaku but Italy’s domination was shocking. It looked too good to be true.
And, indeed, it wasn’t. On 38 minutes, Lorenzo Pellegrini’s blunder brought the Italians back to reality. The Roma captain hit former Bologna man Theate with a vicious ankle tackle in an attempt to recover the ball from an Alessandro Bastoni missed pass. The referee initially waved a yellow card at him but the VAR corrected his decision, giving Pellegrini his marching orders.
Belgium found the back of the net right after that, as Trossard set the ball for De Cuyper and the Club Brugge full back suddenly turned into a lethal striker, conjuring a clinical conclusion that left no chance to Gianluigi Donnarumma. That was exactly the morale booster that Tedesco’s side needed, right before the half time break.
The second half followed an expectable pattern, with Belgium attacking and the Azzurri trying to weather the storm. From a corner kick on 62 minutes, Wout Faes headed the ball in the middle of the box, finding Trossard’s winning deflection past Donnarumma.
It could have gone more wrong than that as Tedesco smelled blood and reinforced his offensive options but, again, there was no prime Lukaku on the pitch and Italy managed to defend themselves with composure. The Azzurri even tried to hit them on the counter now and then but, all in all, they can be happy with having salvaged one point despite the numerical disadvantage.
What’s more, Luciano Spalletti’s Italy are starting to mold into something interesting…
MATCH SCORECARD
September 6, 2024 – Nations League
ITALY – BELGIUM 2-2
SCORERS: 1′ Cambiaso (I), 24′ Retegui (I), 42′ De Cuyper (B), 62′ Trossard (B)
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ITALY (3-5-1-1): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori; Cambiaso, Frattesi (90′ Bellanova), Ricci (70′ Fagioli), Tonali (80′ Pisilli), Dimarco (70′ Udogie); Pellegrini; Retegui (35′ st Raspadori) (Di Gregorio, Vicario, Buongiorno, Gabbia, Lucca, Maldini, Okoli) Coach: Spalletti |
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BELGIUM (4-2-3-1): Casteels; Debast, Faes, Theate (68′ Vranckx), De Cuyper; Tielemans, Mangala (68′ Castagne); Doku (88′ Fofana), De Ketelaere (68′ Lukebakio), Trossard; Openda (87′ Ngonge) (De Wolf, Vandevoordt, Bakayoko, Bornauw, De Winter, Engels, Ngonge, Smets) Coach: Tedesco |
REFEREE: Mr. Eskas (Norway)
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Donnarumma, Pisilli, Trossard; Red Card: Pellegrini (I); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 6′