Italy beat Belgium to secure third place in the Nations League

By
Satya Kumar
Satya is a football enthusiast who has a stronghold on the tactical aspect of the game. Satya is currently working as a journalist at SportsDigest.in and...
2 Min Read

Italy returned to winning ways as they beat Belgium 2-1 at Turin and secured third place in the UEFA Nations League.

Belgium was without their talisman Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard through injury. Meanwhile, Italy was without Immobile and Moise Kean.

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Italy dominated the proceedings and Berardi tested Courtois early with a long-range effort. The Belgian parried the shot away. In the 25th minute, Beligum’s Saelemaekers hit the crossbar with his effort.

Chiesa nearly opened the scoring for Italy, however, Courtois saved the Juventus man’s effort from close range to keep Belgium in the game.

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Barella broke the deadlock early in the second half with a thunderous volley effort from a botched corner kick clearance. Belgium brought on Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere in the 59th minute for Tielemans and Saelemaekers respectively. In the 65th minute, Berardi doubled the European Champion’s lead from the penalty spot.

Meanwhile, Donnarumma was forced into the game as Toby Alderweireld’s shot stung his palms. In the 82nd minute, Atletico Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco came close to pull one back. The winger’s curled effort beat the keeper but deflected out off the post. Charles De Ketelaere pulled one back for Belgium 4 minutes later after De Bruyne released the youngster in behind. The midfielder calmly put the ball in between Donnarumma’s legs to score the goal.

However, Italy held onto the lead to win the game and secure third place. After a surprise defeat against Spain three days earlier, Italy has bounced back to their winning ways.

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Satya is a football enthusiast who has a stronghold on the tactical aspect of the game. Satya is currently working as a journalist at SportsDigest.in and can be reached at [email protected] .