Italy routed Israel 4-1 at the Bluenergy Arena in Udine on Monday night to take one more step toward the Nations League Final Eight. The Azzurri will need just one point out of their final two games against Belgium and France in November to secure a spot in the next round, which will also mean a higher seed in the upcoming draw for the 2026 World Cup UEFA Qualifiers.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo bagged a brace, adding to Mateo Retegui’s spot kick and Davide Frattesi’s 8th goal with the Nazionale. Mohammad Abu Fani scored the only goal of the night for the Middle Eastern who are still winless in their Nations League campaign.
The Azzurri‘s night was embellished by Daniel Maldini making his debut for Italy – the third in the Maldini’s dynasty to play for the Nazionale after his grandfather Cesare and his father Paolo. Lorenzo Lucca of Udinese also earned is first cap, right in the stadium where he plays domestically.
Luciano Spalletti made three changes versus the starting lineup that tied with Belgium last Thursday. Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario started in goal, while Nicolò Fagioli replaced Samuele Ricci at midfield. Giacomo Raspadori supported Retegui upfront as Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini served a one-match ban after seeing red against Belgium.
After testing Omri Glazer a couple of times, first with a Retegui close-range shot and then with a Sandro Tonali conclusion, Italy drew first blood on 41 minutes. Retegui’s conversion from the spot was flawless after Dor Peretz naively pushed Tonali down in the box.
It was the logical conclusion of a first half dominated by Italy, even though the Middle Eastern had had a courageous start.
Spalletti sent in Ricci for Fagioli at half time as the Azzurri continued to be in control of the operations. On 54 minutes, Raspadori took a set piece from the left hand side and picked Di Lorenzo in the middle of the box. The Napoli captain headed the ball home to make it 2-0.
It seemed like Italy could switch to cruise control mode, but Israel had a sudden jolt of life as Abu Fani whipped the ball into the back of the net straight from a corner kick. Vicario protested as he was supposedly obstructed by Matan Baltaxa but his claims were disallowed.
The Azzurri‘s reaction was immediate and Glazer had to go above and beyond to keep the visitors afloat as he parried back Alessandro Bastoni’s header shortly after. However, the Israeli goalkeeper somehow spoiled his performance as he failed to catch a hardly irresistible shot from Frattesi, well served by his teammate Federico Dimarco.
With Italy ahead 3-1, Spalletti sent in Maldini and the young Monza striker promptly repaid the trust, triggering the action that resulted in Di Lorenzo’s final goal of the night with a brilliant no-look pass for Destiny Udogie. The Azzurri’s Nations League march can continue.
MATCH SCORECARD
October 14, 2024 – Nations League
ITALY – ISRAEL 4-1
SCORERS: 41′ Retegui (It, pen.), 54′ Di Lorenzo (It), 66′ Abu Fani (Is), 72′ Frattesi (It), 79′ Di Lorenzo (It)
 |
ITALY (3-5-1-1): Vicario; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori; Cambiaso, Frattesi (87′ Buongiorno), Fagioli (46′ Ricci), Tonali, Dimarco (73′ Udogie); Raspadori (74′ Maldini); Retegui (84′ Lucca) (Donnarumma, Di Gregorio, Bellanova, Gabbia, Okoli, Zaniolo, Pisilli) Coach: Spalletti |
 |
ISRAEL (4-2-3-1): O. Glazer; Feingold, Nachmias, Baltaxa; Abada (75′ Baribo), Abu Fani, Kanichowsky (46′ Jaber), Haziza (64′ Gropper); D.Peretz (81′ Safuri), Gloukh; Madmon (64′ Khalaifi) (Keuof, Gerafi, Stoinov, Azoulay, Leidner, Biton, E. Peretz) Coach: Shimon |
REFEREE: Mr. De Burgos (Spain)
NOTES: Yellow Card: Cambiaso (It); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 1′