Italy continue good form with victory over winless Israel in Budapest
Having only lost once across their previous 13 UEFA Nations League group-stage encounters (W7, D5), Italy unsurprisingly threatened first in the Hungarian capital.
Following his stunning strike against France, Federico Dimarco was nearly at it again shortly after the quarter-hour mark, however, on this occasion, the forward-flying full-back fired his effort inches over Yoav Gerafi’s crossbar.
Amid a quick intervention from VAR as they nonchalantly turned down Italy’s appeals for a penalty kick, Raoul Bellanova would spurn a gilt-edged chance to put the Azzurri ahead, slicing his shot at the back post horribly wide, despite having the glory of hitting the back of the net at his mercy.
Nonetheless, the visitors’ unparalleled attacking dominance paid dividends in the 38th minute as Davide Frattesi expertly diverted Dimarco’s deliciously delivered first-time cross past Gerafi.
Following their failure to register a shot on target throughout a frustrating first half, Israel manager Ran Ben Shimon took a drastic course of action during half-time by introducing both Mahmoud Jaber and Oscar Gloukh.
However, it was goalscorer Frattesi who nearly doubled his and Italy’s tally in the 52nd minute, only for Gerafi to deny the midfield maestro another introduction onto the scoresheet with a stunning save.
Nonetheless, Gerafi was helpless to prevent Moise Kean from marking his return to the Azzurri XI with a goal shortly after the hour-mark as he calmly slotted home the rebound after Giacomo Raspadori’s initial effort had been kindly palmed into his path by the Israeli keeper.
The offside flag would deny Italy a third goal, as Sandro Tonali saw his strike ruled out for offside, however, the decision had no bearing on the overall outcome of the contest, despite substitute Mohammad Abu Fani netting a sublimely-struck half-volleyed 90th-minute consolation for Israel.
Another H2H success moves Italy one step closer to finishing top of a third straight Nations League group. Meanwhile, Israel remain in search of their first-ever victory at the top table of the competition, with UEFA’s latest international tournament now scheduled to take a mini-winter break until mid-October.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Davide Frattesi (Italy)