Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored twice, with Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi also on target, as Italy swept Israel aside 4-1 to top the Nations League group.
The Azzurri lost their perfect record with a 2-2 draw against Belgium when down to 10 men, so Lorenzo Pellegrini was suspended, as Giacomo Raspadori, Guglielmo Vicario and Nicolò Fagioli stepped in to the starting XI. Israel were rock bottom, but had scored in all three games, missing Manor Solomon, Omri Gandelman, Miguel Vitor, Shawn Goldberg, Eli Dasa and Roy Revivo, while Dean David asked to be left out in a row over playing time.
See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.
Oscar Gloukh had the first chance, drilling inches wide from the edge of the area after Fagioli’s error in midfield, while Glazer came running off his line to stop Mateo Retegui scoring one-on-one from a Giovanni Di Lorenzo pass.
Riccardo Calafiori found himself at the by-line moments later to pull across for Raspadori, but it was cleared almost off the line.
Italy had a wonderful team move with one-touch football from Alessandro Bastoni and Raspadori, resulting in the Retegui strike flapped over by Glazer.
The goalkeeper also threw himself in the path of Sandro Tonali’s finish from six yards after a Raspadori through ball.
Dimarco controlled a long Raspadori pass and rolled it across the face of goal, but Davide Frattesi and Retegui both failed to make the most of it as they came sliding in.
Gloukh turned over again from a promising position, but Tonali got to a poor clearance just inside the area before Dor Peretz and earned a penalty. Retegui sent Glazer down with a stuttering run-up before dinking it into the top corner for his second consecutive Italy game on target.
Italy doubled their lead after the break when Raspadori floated a free kick into the box for his Napoli teammate Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s header into the ground from six yards. He was the captain this evening, marking his first goal since November 2022.
However, once again Israel confirmed their tendency to score in every single game in the Nations League, as Mohammad Abu Fani curled in directly from the corner flag. Vicario complained that he was obstructed by Matan Baltaxa, but much like we’ve seen several times playing for Tottenham this season, the referee and VAR judged it to be fair pressure.
Italy almost restored the two-goal cushion moments later, but Glazer flew for a sensational fingertip save on the Alessandro Bastoni looping header.
The goal did come when Calafiori spread the play down the left for Dimarco, who rolled across for Inter teammate Frattesi to fire in first time.
Daniel Maldini made history as the first time one family represented Italy with three generations, following in the footsteps of father Paolo – in the stands – and grandfather Cesare.
The 23-year-old made an immediate impact, his nutmeg sending Destiny Udogie down the left, pulling back for Di Lorenzo to complete his first Italy brace.
Italy 4-1 Israel
Retegui pen 41 (It), Di Lorenzo 54, 79 (It), Abu Fani 66 (Is), Frattesi 72 (It)
Player statistic
| Mateo Retegui |  |
39' |
| Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Assist: Giacomo Raspadori) |
 |
54' | ||
| 66' | |
Mohammed Abu Fani | ||
| Davide Frattesi (Assist: Federico Dimarco) |
|
73' | ||
| Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Assist: Destiny Udogie) |
|
79' |
