SAN FRANCISCO, November 19, (THEWILL) –Â Andrea Belotti and Domenico Berardi scored for Italy as they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to book a place in the UEFA Nations League finals.
For the third consecutive game, they were without boss Roberto Mancini because of his positive coronavirus test. Yet, Italy masterfully got the job done in Sarajevo thanks to volleys from Belotti and Berardi.
Striker Belotti snatched at a volley on the edge of the six-yard box before guiding a diving header wide from slightly further out as Italy dominated right from the go.
Then, in the 22nd minute, it was third time lucky for the Torino striker. Lorenzo floated the ball from the left and Belotti slid in to meet it, sending it looping over stand-in Bosnia keeper Kenan Piric.
As the chances came fast and thick, Piric denied Berardi and Insigne curled a shot inches wide, either side of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s sharp stop to keep out Smail Prevljak’s low effort.
Bosnia, who were missing the services of Edin Dzeko and a couple of other key players, wasted another good opportunity when nine minutes into the second half, Sinisa Sanicanin blasted a shot into the side-netting.
Italy soon doubled their lead through Berardi’s strike. The Sassuolo attacker accurately followed his club-mate Manuel Locatelli’s pass all the way and volleyed it in from 13 yards for a thunderous goal.
To cap an unproductive match, Bosnia lost Sanicanin to a hamstring injury late on and had to conclude the game with 10 men. Federico Bernardeschi almost compounded their misery by a strike that loudly cracked the underside of the crossbar.
That was how it ended at the Grbavica Stadium. It meant Italy finished a point above the Netherlands, who beat Poland 2-1 in Wednesday’s other Group A1 contest.
Bosnia headed into this final fixture already relegated and did not pose much of a trouble for their opponents, who are now unbeaten in 22 outings.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
