ITALY enhanced their prospects of reaching the World Cup qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 away victory against Estonia on Saturday. Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Francesco Pio Esposito all found the net for the Azzurri in this crucial qualifier. The win provides a significant lift for Italy, who have missed the last two World Cups after failing in the playoffs on both occasions. Norway’s emphatic 5-0 win over Israel earlier on Saturday means the playoff route now appears Italy’s most probable path to the tournament.
Norway currently leads Group I with 18 points from six matches played. Italy now sits on 12 points but holds a game in hand over their rivals, placing them three points clear of Israel in the standings. Estonia remains in fourth position with just three points from their matches. The group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams enter the playoff stage.
Italy made a lightning start by taking the lead in just the fourth minute through Moise Kean. Federico Dimarco delivered the ball into Kean’s feet, and the striker expertly twisted past defenders before firing a shot into the far corner of the net. This marked Kean’s fourth goal in his last three appearances for the national team, though his evening was cut short when he suffered an injury soon after scoring. His replacement Francesco Pio Esposito had made his only previous international appearance as a substitute against Estonia back in September.
Mateo Retegui won a penalty for Italy after being fouled by Estonian defender Marten Kuusk but failed to convert the spot-kick. Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein managed to tip Retegui’s effort onto the post, keeping the scoreline at 1-0. Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso remained philosophical about the missed penalty in his post-match comments. The important thing is to create – missing goals and penalties can happen, Gattuso told RAI Sport. The boys are eager and continuing on the right path.
Retegui quickly made amends for his penalty miss by doubling Italy’s advantage seven minutes before halftime. Riccardo Orsolini pulled the ball back from the byline, and Retegui smashed his finish past Hein from just outside the six-yard box. The second half proved less eventful until Esposito netted his first international goal in the 74th minute. Leonardo Spinazzola delivered a cross into the area that Esposito met first-time to give Italy a 3-0 lead.
Esposito expressed his delight at scoring his maiden goal for the national team after the match. I’m very emotional, these are things you can’t explain or fully grasp in the moment, Esposito told Sky. I still need to process it, but I’m incredibly happy, everything happened so fast. Estonia managed to pull a goal back just two minutes later through substitute Rauno Sappinen. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had been largely untested throughout the match, spilled Markus Soomets’ cross directly to Sappinen for a simple tap-in.
Italy now prepares to host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure their hold on second place in the group. While mathematically they could still catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ significantly superior goal difference makes a playoff position the most likely outcome for Gattuso’s team. Gattuso emphasized the need for his team to maintain their focus ahead of the crucial match against Israel. There are many positive things, we have to follow our own path, Gattuso told Sky. We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do and we hold on to the good we’ve done. – Reuters
