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International Liveblog: Ecuador vs. Italy

Byfbadmin

Mar 24, 2024 19:59

Football Italia Live Blog
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22:14 That is all for the Liveblog

Check the main site for more post-match coverage.

22:14 Spalletti comments

 

22:05 Match report

 

22:02 FT: Ecuador 0-2 Italy

22:00 Ecuador 0-2 Italy: Nicolo’ Barella!

What a way to mark his first game as captain! Ecuador were pouring forward, so Frattesi found Orsolini on the counter, nutmeg assist for Barella, who waits for the goalkeeper to run out and dinks it over him! Brilliant.

21:58 Header over

Estupinan cross, Pacho header over the bar.

21:58 Into stoppages

4 minutes, lots of Ecuador corners…

21:54 Nodded clear

Strikers back to help, Retegui and Orsolini clear from those corners. Yellow card then it looks like for Cambiaso, who just came on, for kicking the ball away…

21:54 Italy sub

Cambiaso on, Dimarco off

21:53 Another corner

Italy are visibly running out of steam and Ecuador are not.

21:52 Ecuador push

Corner cleared, then cross deflected into the arms of Vicario.

21:49 Spalletti frustrated

Spalletti is marching up and down the touchline looking unhappy.

21:45 Ecuador subs

Obando and Gruezo on, Franco and Sarmiento off

21:42 Italy subs

Retegui and Orsolini on, Raspadori and Zaniolo off.

21:41 Zaniolo

Zaniolo is trying, but he looks exhausted…

21:40 Oof!

Mancini booked for absolutely wiping out Plata. Tipped him over his knee.

21:39 Dimarco annoyed

Zaniolo didn’t make the best choice, ends up with a corner. Then Dimarco furious with his teammates for not following the corner kick routine.

21:34 Vicario save!

Vicario’s first save in the Italy shirt! It had to be a good one, because Plata cut inside from the right and hit a scorcher, then the Estupinan curler flashed just wide of the far post!

21:33 Italy subs

Locatelli and Frattesi on, Jorginho and Pellegrini off.

21:32 Zaniolo booked

Zaniolo penalised for flailing out an arm on Estupinan’s face. Bit harsh.

21:31 Minda stretchered off

Bastoni got the ball first, but then the ankle and Minda is stretchered off. Paez on.

21:29 Bastoni tackle

Bastoni sliding tackle on Minda, Ecuador complain, defender and the referee assure he got the ball.

21:26 Ecuador threaten

Pull back from the by-line fortunately for Italy goes past everyone… Sarmiento shot then charged down by Di Lorenzo.

21:23 Italy corner

Dimarco corner punched clear, Zaniolo first touch is poor and then he brings down Minda to stop the counter.

21:20 Spalletti furious

Livid with Di Lorenzo and Zaniolo for not being alert enough to a counter-attacking opportunity.

21:18 Ecuador chance

Cross from the right deflected, laid off to just inside the area and Franco gets it horribly wrong by blasting over the bar!

21:16 Zaniolo chance

Free kick whipped into the box by Pellegrini, Zaniolo gets his head to it from seven yards, but nods it wide! He’s furious with himself.

21:14 Raspadori header

Pellegrini dinks a pass over the top for Raspadori, who sadly isn’t great with his head and it is plucked out from under the bar.

21:13 Darmian advanced

Darmian definitely in an advanced role, as he was just caught offside.

21:12 Subs

It’s a friendly, so 6 subs allowed in 3 different slots, not counting half-time.

21:10 2nd half kicks off: Ecuador 0-1 Italy

Entirely possible Di Lorenzo in back 3 and Darmian moved forward. We’ll see. We can resume now Ecuador have finally turned up…

21:09 Italy sub

Di Lorenzo on, Bellanova off. A pity, Bellanova was excellent in that first half.

21:06 Azzurri

 

20:55 Pellegrini’s goal

 

20:54 Half-Time: Ecuador 0-1 Italy

Pellegrini scorcher in the third minute is the difference so far.

20:53 Bellanova a battler

Bellanova has been excellent, battles with Hincapie at the by-line.

20:50 Ecuador chance

Well, it should’ve been a chance, but the cross came to Plata on the edge of the area, who shaped up with such confidence and then scuffed a tame dribble well wide. The crowd actually groaned.

20:46 Ecuador attack

Minda cross from the right is good, but just a little bit beyond Estupinan!

20:45 Caicedo sore

Caicedo has not fully recovered from that knock and needs treatment.

20:44 Jorginho booked

With all the crunching tackles we’ve seen so far, Jorginho blocking off Caicedo on the counter is the first card. It was pretty cynical, to be fair.

20:42 Italy counter

Italy on the counter-attack this time, Zaniolo through ball for Raspadori, shot is deflected over for yet another corner.

20:40 Ecuador corner

Zaniolo loses it in midfield, important counter-attack, roll across for Plata, but Darmian makes a great interception at the near post for a corner.

20:36 Series of corners

Italy have four corners in a row, all taken by Pellegrini, until eventually Burrai gets there.

20:34 Dimarco corner

Burrai is commanding and plucks it out of the air.

20:32 Bellanova again

He’s looking sharp, that debutant, bursts again down the right on another Barella ball, pulled back for Raspadori, but Estupinan makes a crucial interception for the corner.

20:31 Ecuador attack

Minda turns between two defenders and tries to get a shot away, but he is squeezed out and Vicario can gather.

20:28 Azzurri XI

 

20:27 Foul on Vicario

You definitely can’t do that. Went to pluck it out of the air, barged over mid-air by Caicedo. Rude.

20:26 Ecuador corner

Not a lot comes of it, Mancini also argued there was a handball before that.

20:25 Bellanova looking sharp

Bellanova again sprints down the right relatively undisturbed, this time pulls it back to the edge of the area for Pellegrini, but the first touch lets him down.

20:24 Hmm

High press on Vicario again, very risky again. Considering Italy made a total mess of playing out from the back twice against Venezuela, it’s probably best to avoid doing that.

20:21 Another chance

On the resulting corner, punched away, put back in for Zaniolo and desperate Burrai save! It was a good save, but Zaniolo also really scuffed that…

20:20 Italy chance

Bellanova springs the offside trap on a Barella through ball, rolls it across for Dimarco, but Torres gets there first!

20:19 Vicario pressed

Very, very high press on Vicario, who has to clear that in a bit of a panic from six yards. Not the ideal back-pass…

20:18 Pellegrini hurt

Pellegrini got a knock to the head during that move, not entirely sure how.

20:17 Ecuador threaten

Zaniolo robbed, Ecuador surge forward on the counter, cross from the right not cleared very well by Barella, but fortunately Moises Caicedo hoofs it wide.

20:14 Ecuador push

Free kick and then corner cleared without much danger.

20:13 Ouch

Estupinan gets a talking to after treading on Bellanova’s foot. They’re a bit rough…

20:12 Dimarco chance

That was a good move for Italy, but either Dimarco tried to roll across for someone who wasn’t there, or he just got the glancing header totally wrong.

20:10 Oof

Ecuador are not taking this friendly lightly… Sliding tackle through the back of Jorginho.

20:08 Ecuador 0-1 Italy: Lorenzo Pellegrini!

Dimarco free kick into the wall, but it comes back to Pellegrini, who absolutely SMASHES it into the near top corner from outside the box!

20:07 Reminder

It’s a friendly, so no VAR. But Raspadori is tripped by Pacho just outside the box for a free kick.

20:06 We have kick-off in Ecuador vs. Italy!

20:04 A minute’s silence

In memory of Fiorentina director Joe Barone.

19:59 Italian anthem first

As Italy are technically the away side here. Then the anthem of Ecuador.

19:58 Here come the teams

Ecuador: Burrai; Torres, Pacho, Hincapie; Preciado, Franco, Caicedo, Estupinan; Plata, Minda, Sarmiento

Italy: Vicario; Darmian, Mancini, Bastoni; Bellanova, Jorginho, Barella, Dimarco; Zaniolo, Pellegrini; Raspadori

Ref: Freeman (USA)

19:54 Watching in the UK

It is not on television, only on a streaming service called TrillerTV. But look around some betting sites and you might see a live stream with no commentary.

19:53 POLL

 

19:47 American anthem plays

As it does before any sporting event in America. ANY. Even a rubbish one. We’ve no idea why. They just do.

19:46 Giacomo Raspadori on RAI

“We must try to be clinical, do more of what we practiced in training and be aware we are up against tough opponents.

“I think it is stimulating for everyone, as wearing this jersey is the ultimate you can dream of as a football player. We all know there is a great responsibility in representing the Nazionale and we are all ready to give our all.

“I interpret it in my own way. We all have our own characteristics, we are trying something new and want to use our qualities together to bring a different approach.”

19:43 Luciano Spalletti on RAI

“I expect to see more efficiency. You can become a hero in five minutes or throw the rest of the match out the window, so we must always be concentrated and fully focused.

“Ecuador have the qualities of European football, but maintaining the determination and grit of the South American sides.”

19:40 Smiley Spalletti

 

19:37 Warming up in New Jersey

 

19:36 Vicario debut

 

19:26 Italy bench

Donnarumma, Carnesecchi, Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Scalvini, Cambiaso, Locatelli, Bonaventura, Frattesi, Zaccagni, Orsolini, Chiesa, Retegui

19:25 Tonight’s kit

 

19:21 Eyes on Bellanova

 

19:19 Ecuador memories

 

19:16 Vicario debut

 

19:13 Intertalia

There are four Inter players in the starting XI tonight, including captain Barella. And three of the starters play in the Premier League.

19:11 Tonight’s venue

Officially it’s New York, but in reality it’s New Jersey. They just know NY sounds better.

19:10 Barella captain

 

19:01 Barella with the armband

Nicolo Barella gets the captain’s armband this evening, as Luciano Spalletti makes 11 changes to his starting XI.

19:00 POLL

 

18:59 Full team news

 

18:58 Ecuador vs. Italy line-ups

Ecuador: Burrai; Torres, Pacho, Hincapie; Preciado, Franco, Caicedo, Estupinan; Plata, Minda, Sarmiento

Italy: Vicario; Darmian, Mancini, Bastoni; Bellanova, Jorginho, Barella, Dimarco; Zaniolo, Pellegrini; Raspadori

Ref: Freeman (USA)

18:52 Italy XI

Italy: Vicario; Darmian, Mancini, Bastoni; Bellanova, Jorginho, Barella, Dimarco; Zaniolo, Pellegrini; Raspadori

Join us for all the build-up and action as it happens from Italy’s friendly match against Ecuador, the second of their USA tour.

It kicks off at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey at 20.00 GMT.

This follows Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale, decided by a Mateo Retegui brace.

The only other friendlies before Euro 2024 are against Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina in June.

Byfbadmin

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