The Azzurri were not particularly affected by the numerous absences and showed up big time against Poland and they now just need to finish the job against Bosnia to punch their ticket to the Nations League’s final four. Even though they wasted few opportunities to double the lead throughout the contest, they produced a wire-to-wire victory in a match where VAR was sorely missed.
Italy XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6
He was an unpaid spectator in an easy day for the defense that managed to almost completely stymie Robert Lewandowski and company, limiting them to just a pair of non-threatening attempts.
Alessandro Florenzi – 6.5
He had a more muted display compared to Emerson on the other flank, but he was pretty good when advancing, even though at times he had troubles containing Arkadiusz Reca’s exuberance.
Francesco Acerbi – 6.5
He quarterbacked the rearguard with the same command he has at Lazio despite the fact that he was playing on the right side on a four-man line, so in a very different role compared to his usual one.
Alessandro Bastoni – 6
He held his own with great poise, as he has grown accustomed to do, but he was not as noticeable as the man playing next to him in the back.
Emerson – 7
He was a constant thorn on Poland’s side with his continuous powerful runs and he has built great chemistry with Lorenzo Insigne. The left wing was Italy’s best weapon.
Nicolò Barella – 7
He kept up the momentum he is having at the club level with another terrific display where he combined quantity and quality and was seemingly everywhere on the pitch.
Jorginho – 6.5
He gets the credit for the penalty kick that paved the way and, while he did not exactly pull the strings in impressive fashion, he distributed the ball pretty well overall and was very comfortable with two dynamic players flanking him.
Manuel Locatelli – 6
He was mostly quieter than in his recent outings at Sassuolo, but he had a pair of big flashes in the late portion of the second half, coming close to setting up a goal with a juicy pass.
Federico Bernardeschi – 6.5
He is one of the rare players that actually gets to play more with the national team than with his side and he made the most of his minutes with few dangerous actions and providing precious width. However, he left something on the table in some instances due to questionable decision-making.
Andrea Belotti – 6.5
He was on the wrong place at the wrong time on the Lorenzo Insigne’s disallowed goal but made up for it by drawing a clever penalty kick. He worked hard on opposing defenders to open up spaces for the other attackers, which negatively affected his finishing in a couple of chances.
Lorenzo Insigne – 7.5
The clear Man of the Match as he was the primary reference point and just took over for prolonged stretches of the fixture, making several classy plays and combining with perfection with his teammates. He capped it off with a perfect assist for Domenico Berardi.
Italy Substitutes
Domenico Berardi – 7
While Federico Bernardeschi was a little wasteful, he was clutch when he came in and finally sealed the deal with aplomb with an easy lefty finish from inside the box.
Stefano Okaka, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Stephan El Shaarawy – N.A.
They all played too little to really have an impact.
Alberico Evani / Roberto Mancini – 7
They prepared the contest well despite all the difficulties and nailed the Bernardeschi/Berardi sub that put the match away.