Home » World Cup 2022, Belotti and Locatelli sign the victory of Italy in Sofia over Bulgaria

World Cup 2022, Belotti and Locatelli sign the victory of Italy in Sofia over Bulgaria

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Italy in Sofia wins three more heavy points in qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, beating Bulgaria 2-0, thanks to the penalty scored in the 43rd minute by Belotti and Locatelli’s goal in the 82nd, after the good debut against Ireland of the North, and finds the 24th consecutive useful result. Mancini loses Berardi and Chiellini for the occasion, not at their best, so he relaunches Chiesa and Acerbi, while in midfield he lines up Barella with Sensi and Verratti. On the left Spinazzola is preferred to Emerson while in front Immobile leaves room for Belotti. On the other side, Petrov changes form with respect to the game lost against Switzerland and moves on to 3-5-2, revolutionizing the midfield and attack. For the Italian national team it is the first success in Bulgaria where they had never won, after 4 draws and 2 defeats in 6 previous ones.

However, the first conclusion is Bulgarian, at 4 ‘Galabinov tries a shot from the edge but is blocked by Donnarumma. The first real lunge of Mancini’s team arrives at 9 ‘with a throw on the left for Spinazzola who hits the middle for Belotti who kicks high in a slip from a few steps but commits a foul on Bozhikov. At 16 ‘Italy still dangerous: Insigne from the left trocar hits the area for Chiesa who, all alone, hits badly with his right hand, sending the ball to the side. Italy pushes persistently but struggles to become dangerous. The most dangerous man for the Azzurri is the Roma player Spinazzola who on 33 ‘goes away on the left and hits low back for Insigne whose right is blocked by Chochev. Italy’s advantage comes in the 43rd minute. Referee Vincic awards a penalty for a foul by Dimov on Belotti. The attacker of Torino from the spot makes no mistake and with a precise low shot at the edge of the post he overtakes the goalkeeper Iliev on the right for the -1-0.

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Italy is still dangerous at the beginning of the second half: in the 50th minute on a corner from the right by Sensi tries Bonucci’s header but the ball ends a meter over the crossbar. At 57 ‘it is Bulgaria to ask for a penalty: on a throw in the area on the right for Karagaren who centers in the middle there is the possible touch with a wide arm in a sliding slide by Sensi, but the referee lets it go on. At 64 ‘Chiesa hits from the right for Belotti who hits badly with his right and falls then countered by Antov but even here the referee continues. At 72 ‘big opportunity for Italy: vertical launch by Verratti for Belotti who anticipates Iliev with a right lob out but hits the base of the post to the left of the goalkeeper; then falls on the rebound but with the right to the empty net he kicks very high. Shortly after Mancini changes and removes the ‘Gallo’ for Immobile and Chiesa for Bernardeschi after having inserted Di Lorenzo for Florenzi and Locatelli for Sensi. At 82 ‘the encore of Italy arrives: Verratti’s heel to mark Insigne on the left who puts in the middle for Locatelli who with a precise right to turn around the edge of the pole beats Iliev on the left for the 2-0. Mancini’s team raises the pressure and at 87 ‘a vertical throw by Bonucci triggers Immobile who, face to face with Iliev, kicks low at the goalkeeper. The striker of Lazio protagonist is still in full recovery but the conclusion is deflected for a corner by the Bulgarian goalkeeper who closes the challenge.

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