Italy wins well, England relegated The Azzurri can win the group

Excellent performance by Mancini’s team on the ground at San Siro, decides a great goal by Raspadori The elimination from the World Cup was forgotten for one evening. For the first time, God save the king

MILANO

One night from Italy. Mancini’s national team wins and for one evening we can almost forget that we don’t go to the World Cup and the English do. The San Siro was not the rematch of the Europeans, but a real match that the Azzurri fought from the first to the last minute, winning three gold points in the Nations League key.

National anthems in the sign of Queen Elizabeth, remembered with a photo on the big screen of the stadium (sung for the first time God save the King) and a minute of meditation to remember the victims of the flood in the Marche. A lump in the throat, in short, regardless of nationality. Mancini also loses Immobile, relying on the freshness of the award-winning Raspadori-Scamacca company. The Napoli striker will be the real protagonist of the match. Italy got off to a good start and forced Pope first to a frantic rebound on a shot from the edge by Raspadori, then to a sort of open-handed rescue at the corner of the posts on a header by Scamacca (4 ‘).

There is less order than usual in midfield, where the British control but never exceed the blue trocar. The result is a rather long phase in which Italy restarts in speed, breaking the English plots, tortuous and not particularly elegant, as if playing a throw-in. In the first half hour of the game you don’t see much, what seems evident is the will of the blues to find each other, look for each other, try to build something together.

Thus we are witnessing pieces of phrasing that are also appreciable, flashes of triangulations, gusts in attack that however put the English in difficulty. Dimarco pushes far to the left, which also varies in the center. Jorginho, on the other hand, finds it harder to light up the game, not always having whom to support in the short term. He wakes up England around 35 ‘gaining two consecutive corners. The music is very different when Italy starts again, having at least double the speed of the opponents. However, she does not break through, even Captain Kane does not find anything better than to send her high after a solo bucking.

No goals after the first half. He resumes with a golden opportunity for Cristante who gets the ball blown from the right just as he is hitting the net from a couple of meters. Immediately after the free kick James tries from the edge to take the seven but only remedies a few whistles for the aim. A mistake by Toloi sets in motion Kane who, at the moment of the conclusion, finds himself in front of Bonucci who puts in a corner. The British pick up speed, Toloi takes a corner anticipating a cloud of white shirts nestled in the small area of ​​Donnarumma.

Enter Gnonto and Pobega in place of Scamacca and Barella (63 ‘). Gnonto shows up immediately with a right-hand that only an English calf can remove from the goal (66 ‘). It is the prelude to the goal, an authentic Giacomo Raspadori masterpiece who does everything by himself from the left corner of the English area, closing with a low shot in the corner furthest from Pope’s outstretched hand. There is also glory for Donnarumma who silenced Kane’s right hand twice in a row, forcing the people of San Siro to peel their hands. Ovation for Raspadori who gives way to Manolo Gabbiadini, for him a return to blue after five years (79 ‘).

Just Gabbiadini is rejected by Pope a very occasional one-on-one and on the rejection the Azzurri almost double. Enter Emerson and Frattesi, then 6 ‘of recovery which serve to fill the blues with applause. It ends with Mancini embracing those of him who have beaten England again. We really needed a truly blue night. –