Belgium strolled to a comfortable two-nil victory over Italy in their opening Nations League Group A fixture at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
It was a disastrous start to life for Roberto Mancini, who lined up his Italian team in his second spell back in charge of the Azzurri against Mark Von Bommel, who took charge of his first game as Belgium manager. In a tale of two firsts, it was Van Bommel who got off to a perfect start with the Red Devils. Mancini previously served as Italy’s head coach between 2018 and 2023 and masterminded their triumph at Euro 2020.
Goals from Mika Godts and Dodi Lukebakio in either half were enough to help Belgium see off the Italians. Belgium’s goals came from fast breaks. Senne Lammens put in a commanding performance behind the sticks and kept Italy’s attack frustrated all night long. The result piles further pressure on Mancini and Italy, who have regressed greatly in the past couple of years.
Italy Crumble
The match got off to a bright start for Belgium as Gianluigi Donnarumma was called into action to deny Charles De Ketelaere’s effort. Italy came close shortly after with Nicolò Barella, but his shot crashed off the outside of the post.
The stalemate was short-lived as Belgium capitalised on a defensive howler to open the scoring in the 20th minute. Italy debutant Alessandro Romano misplaced a pass in midfield, allowing Belgium to regain possession before Kevin De Bruyne sent Paris Saint-Germain new boy Mika Godts racing through on goal. Godts cut in onto his right foot, left multiple defenders for dead in the heap of grass before slamming the ball into the net. A goal of beauty!
The Italian fans in the stadium made their feelings of displeasure known as boos rang out from different parts of the stadium after Belgium went ahead. Italy had Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for keeping the margin close with a series of superb saves to deny De Ketelaere, Diego Moreira and Godts that kept the goal margin close. Italy went into the break a goal down.
Things go from bad to worse
Italy increased the intensity of their performance after the restart and piled on the pressure on Belgium, but Lammen’s masterful performance denied them twice, keeping Pio Esposito out. The two coaches tried to switch things up afterwards and made different substitutions.
Italy were sloppy in possession, and Belgium took full advantage as they caught the Italians on the counter swiftly. 58th minute, substitute Dodi Lukebakio, who had come on for Diego Moreira, wasted no time in making his impact felt where it hurt Italy the most, eleven minutes after his introduction. De Ketelaere sent Lukebakio racing goalwards as they went from defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Lukebakio did all the hard work singlehandedly, sprinting purposefully before evading multiple challenges skillfully and unleashing a 25-yard screamer into the back of the net.
The goal effectively snuffed out Italy’s probing, and Belgium held on to secure the win and the three points.
Mancini replaced Gennaro Gattuso at the helm in July after Italy failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup and reiterated that Italy had to move on from the failure in an interview.
“We need to think positively and not keep banging on all the time about what has happened in the past. In any case, we can’t change what happened now,” said Mancini.
There is no time for Italy to mull over their defeat as they have another match against Tirkiye on the 28th September. They have been placed in one of the toughest groups, and they still face a bigger challenge against France. They face an uphill task in advancing to the quarter-finals. For now, their full focus will be on avoiding relegation, as the last-placed team will be relegated to League B. Mancini’s last win with Italy came against the Netherlands three years ago in a 3:2 victory.
