After their 2-1 defeat against Spain that ended their 37 game unbeaten streak, the Azzurri hosted the Belgians at the Juventus Arena. The European champion is looking to grab some consolation as Belgium still tries to get revenge on the Euro 2020 defeat.
After the whistle, Italy played comfortably and controlled the pace. However, they had trouble converting their chances as Berardi and Raspadori’s efforts were comfortably dealt with by the Belgian defense. In the 28th minute, Belgian Alexis Saelemaekers hit the crossbar and left the Italians shocked, but they were able to hold off the Belgians for the time being.
Italy opened the scoring immediately after the break. Belgian defenders made a poor corner clearance and Nicolò Barella sniped the clearance from outside the box and found the top corner. Michy Batshuayi almost leveled up the scoring as he hit the woodwork in the 60th minute. Instead, the Italians got their buffer after Domenico Berardi squeezed his penalty past Thibaut Courtois. Belgium tried to respond by putting on Keven De Bruyne, but the team gained little ground without Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. A consolation goal in the 86th minute by De Ketelaere saw the Belgians taking 4th place in the competition.
Belgium will resume their World Cup qualifying journey on November 13 where they will take
on Estonia, and Italy will play Switzerland the night before to try to seal their spot in Qatar.
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