Italy beat Belgium this Sunday and won third place in the League of Nations. With goals from Barella and Berardi, the Italians finished 2-1.
The team lost the semifinal to Spain and ended its 37 unbeaten games with coach Roberto Mancini. The selection ends the tournament with four wins, three draws and one loss.
The game – Six minutes into the first half, Acerbi went wrong and Batshuayi, Lukaku’s replacement, almost opened the scoring. At 24, great opportunity for Belgium. Saelemaekers hit the crossbar and Donnarumma had to “eyeball”.
Ball possession until 35 minutes of play was balanced: 47% for the Italians and 53% for the Belgians. In the last minutes, Berardi made a great launch for Chiesa, who entered the area and kicked. Courtois, with her feet, put it aside.
In a very busy duel for the dispute for third place, Italy went to the locker room with eight shots, while their opponent with four.
If the target didn’t have a clear shot before, the start of the second stage was different. In the first minute, after Italy’s corner, the defense cut to the middle of the area and Barella took it first, with no chances for Courtois. At 14, Belgium arrived with their best opportunity in the match. After De Bruyne’s pass, De Ketelaere found Batshuayi, who landed a kick on the crossbar.
The scoreboard didn’t stop at 1-0. Five minutes later, Castagne hit Chiesa in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. Berardi hit his left leg and Courtois caught the ball, but it died in the back of the net. At 23, Donnarumma failed, curled up with the ball and almost allowed Belgium to cash. A minute later, the PSG goalkeeper redeemed himself and saved a dangerous shot from Alderweireld.
At the end of the match, at 36, Carrasco hits Belgium’s third shot on the crossbar. At 40, in a counterattack linked by Courtois, De Bruyne found De Ketelaere. The 20-year-old entered the area, touched between the legs of the goalkeeper and decreased in the count.
As much as Belgium tried to pressure Italy, the team commanded by Mancini regained control of the match and did not let the tie come to light.
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