England again failed to win in the group stage of the Nations League on Friday evening. Gareth Southgate’s team went down on a visit to Italy 1-0, so that England finishes as number four in the group with Hungary and Germany also. In the five games in the Nations League so far, the English have not won once. Striker Giacomo Raspadori was the only goalscorer of the match in San Siro with his goal.
Italian national coach Roberto Mancini started Friday evening with Gianluigi Donnarumma under the bar against the English. Leonardo Bonucci was at the heart of the defense and Gianluca Scamacca and Raspadori at the forefront of the attack. National coach Southgate started with Harry Maguire in the starting line-up, despite the fact that the defender has not started a league game for Manchester United for more than six weeks. Jude Bellingham was posted in midfield along with Declan Rice.
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Raspadori blasts the ball past Pope to make it 1-0 for Italy ????#Raspadori #ITAENG #ZiggoSport pic.twitter.com/WSz4uSc89Y— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 23, 2022
There were few great chances in the first half. Maguire and Reece James fired on Donnarumma’s goal, but the Italian keeper was able to save quite easily. The biggest chance of the first half was for James, who went behind a free kick on the edge of the box. However, Chelsea’s right-back shot well over, leaving both teams 0-0 at halftime. Italy had the greatest opportunities at the beginning of the second act and that paid off twenty minutes before time.
Raspadori scored the opening goal in the seventieth minute. The attacker nicely took a long pass from Bonucci, after which he briefly turned away from Kyle Walker and shot the ball past Pope in the far corner: 1-0. The English did not give in and fired on Donnarumma’s goal fifteen minutes before the end. Harry Kane tried in two instances, but the Paris Saint-Germain keeper kept his team going. Pope did the same on a bet by Manolo Gabbiadini, who only went to the goalkeeper. Federico Dimarco fired on the outside of the post a few seconds later. Italy comes with the victory on eight points: two less than leader Hungary. Both teams will face each other in the last game of the group stage on Monday.
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