Italy vs. Netherlands – Match Report – October 14, 2020

EFE – The selections of Italy and the Netherlands signed the tables (1-1) at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo (northern Italy) and, with the second consecutive draw for both teams, they made Poland happy, new leader of group 1 of the League of Nations after his defeat to Bosnia Herzegovina (3-0).

Two days from the end of the group stage, Poland, which beat Bosnia 3-0 with a double by Robert Lewandowski included, leads the table with seven points, one more than Italy, second with six, and two more than the Netherlands, third with five. Bosnia remains bottom, with two points.

The last two games will be necessary to decide who will enter the final phase of the League of Nations, with Italy hosting Poland and visiting Bosnia, and the Netherlands playing at home with the Bosnians and ending their league with a visit to the Poles.

Before 1,000 doctors invited to the Gewiss Stadium by the Italian Federation after their intense work against the coronavirus in one of the areas most affected by the pandemic in Italy, the selected “azzurro” and the “orange” were canceled.

Italy went ahead first, at a quarter of an hour, when an excellent pass from Nicoló Barella, already the protagonist in the “azzurra” victory in the Netherlands, freed Lorenzo Pellegrini so that he could surpass the goalkeeper Jasper Cillesen with an accurate shot with the left leg.

The Netherlands, which with De Boer on the bench had lost 1-0 the week in the friendly against Mexico and drawn 0-0 against Bosnia in the Nations League, was slow to find a rhythm, but grew as the minutes passed and achieved the even at 25, when Donny Van De Beek smashed a fumble into the penalty area and made it 1-1.

De Boer’s men grew even further in the second half and brushed the lead in the 55th, when Memphis Depay tried with a powerful shot after a dribble in the penalty area that goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma managed to send for a corner kick.

Italy was not very bright at the level of play. Jorge Frello “Jorginho” lost the particular duel with the Barcelona player Frenkie De Jong, very elegant in the center of the field, and the only dangers of the Italians originated in long passes from the defense or in individual errors of the Dutch rear.

Precisely a mistake by Dailey Blind at 57 gave the best chance of the match for Italy, with Immobile failing a comfortable heads up with Cillesen. The Lazio forward, Golden Boot last season with 36 league goals, continues to suffer a lot when he wears the “azzurra” shirt, with which he only scored ten goals in 42 games.

There were two scares that convinced the two teams to slow down in the final stage and settle for a 1-1 that is a lost opportunity to escape in the classification, but at the same time leaves everything open to access the final phase.