Nations League, Belgium-Italy 0-1: Tonali decides. Azzurri in the quarter-finals

Brussels (Belgium), 14 November 2024 - At theItaly a draw is enough to mathematically qualify for the quarter-finals of Nations League: instead, thanks to a goal from Tonali and a test of quality and quantity, with a pinch of luck in the defensive phase (like on the post hit by Faes), the Azzurri beat at home the Belgium, further strengthening the leadership of the Group 2 di Lega A. At the same time, the France, next opponent on Sunday, does not go beyond the 0-0 against Israel, remaining late for 3 points in the standings right on the edge of the away match at Milan: also in this case, at the National a draw will be enough to secure the top of the group.

The official lineups

  German choose a 4-2-3-1 open from Castles, protected by Chestnuts, Debast, Faes e Theater, in turn shielded by English e Ako: the only tip is Lukaku, assisted by Trossard, openday e From Cuyper. Spalletti reply with a 3-5-1-1 that he sees between the posts Donnarumma, with By Lorenzo, Good morning e Sticks in defense and Cambiaso e Marco's on the bands: in the middle of the field they are there Fraternity, rovella e Tonali, while Stretcher acts behind the back of Retegui.  

First half

  L'Italy starts by immediately keeping control of the game: a lot depends on the feet of Sticks, which first goes from Cambiaso (in an offside position) and then receives from Marco's then let loose a cross which was headed away by Faes. At 6' Fraternity the first shot on goal is fired, little more than a phone call for Castles: shortly after he tries Marco's, but the usual Faes blocks the shot. In the 11th minute the Azzurri took the lead thanks to Tonali, who with an easy tap-in sends the (slightly deviated) suggestion of By Lorenzo, good at evading the marking of From Cuyper after the perfect verticalization of Stretcher. The response of Belgium is entrusted to a similar action which sees protagonists Ako e Chestnuts, with the latter failing to reach the ball: on the other side the ball also slips out of the back Tonali to Retegui. At 20' English enters late on Marco's: the referee Petrescu assigns a free kick and takes it rovella, which however finds the head of Debast, which in turn tries to fuel a restart before the error of Lukaku. At 24' he also makes a mistake in setting up the game Ako, leaving the ball right there for rovella, whose conclusion however ends up above the crossbar. He then enters the scene Good morning, which first intercepts the suggestion of From Cuyper directed to openday and then wins the duel with Lukaku, who fails to free his left foot. At 33' he gets his gloves dirty Donnarumma blocking a cross coming out of his own From Cuyper. At 42', after a phase of general nervousness, theItaly returns dangerous with a combination between By Lorenzo e Fraternity: the diagonal of Chestnuts turns out to be fundamental. Shortly after, it is also providential Debast on another drumming action by the Azzurri, who exchange with Fraternity, Cambiaso e Tonali in the heart of the home penalty area. The injury time awarded by Petrescu are 2 and they only serve to Lukaku to have a warning given Sticks after a body to body: on the other side, he had previously ended up on the list of the Romanian referee's bad guys Chestnuts.

Second half

  The recovery begins with a serious error in the setup phase of Faes: the ball is delivered to Retegui, which in turn ruins everything miserably by getting the suggestion wrong for the onrushing Fraternity. At 50' English concludes on the bottom at the end of a good restart of his team, and among the regrets of Lukaku: shortly after from the edge he tries Debast, and this time a plastic diving save is needed DonnarummaThe hosts continued to charge from distance and in the 52nd minute they narrowly Trossard can't find the intersection. TheItaly she is struggling and at 53' she risks hurting herself when Sticks with his head he sends a cross out wide (not without shivers) From Cuyper directed to openday. At 54' Theater mockery Cambiaso, who was looking for the bottom, and puts in the middle: Donnarumma comes out great. On the reversal in front at 54' Fraternity goes vertical for Retegui, whose left foot is sent to the corner by the big hand of Castles. Right from the corner a back and forth starts in the home area which first sees Theater save on the goal line and then By Lorenzo send the header-shoulder shot from zero meters to the bottom. There is not a moment of respite and on the other side at 57' Donnarumma must stretch on the razor from outside of Trossard, fueled by a mid-court mugging by Faes su Tonali. After a hellish phase on both fronts, theItaly try to keep the ball to slow down the pace: in these cases, losing the ball can be bloody and in fact at 61' the shape of Donnarumma to repel the blow of openday, fueled by an error of Fraternity. At 63' Sticks lancia Retegui, who crosses with his left foot, fouled in the corner by Debast without the referee team noticing. Spalletti opens the carousel of substitutions by inserting Kean e Udogy for Retegui e Marco's: upon resumption of play From Cuyper commits Donnarumma directly from the corner. German throw instead Vermeeren e Al Dakhil for English e Theater. From a misunderstanding between Cambiaso e Kean the Belgian restart starts fueled by Lukaku, whose cross-shot ends up in the arms of Donnarumma. At 78' Lukaku he heads the cross slightly deflected from the bottom Sticks di Chestnuts. Other changes follow: on one side enters Lukebakio for From Cuyper and on the other Locatelli, Breakers e Cats for rovella, Stretcher e Cambiaso. The Belgium he raises the engine revs again and almost equalises first with a spin of Lukaku on the bank of Al Dakhil deflected into a corner by By Lorenzo and then, from the developments, at 84' with the header back by Faes, rejected by the post. German the card is played Bakayoko for Chestnuts before Petrescu Cheques 3' recovery, during which nothing else happens: the winsItaly thanks to Tonali and to so much suffering.