Italy got off to a flying start in their friendly match against Ecuador in the US, opening the scoring in the third minute. Midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box, beating goalkeeper Javier Burrai.
Three minutes after the opening goal, the Italian team had a smooth coordination to bring the ball from the home field to the Ecuador team's goal. Unfortunately, Federico Dimarco's header went wide of the post.
Federico Dimarco repeated his unlucky streak with a header that went wide from the same position in the 40th minute, despite having moved well into the box to meet Raoul Bellanova's cross.
In the second half, Ecuador played better and almost equalized in the 68th minute. However, Gonzalo Plata's shot could not beat goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. This was also Ecuador's only shot on target out of 10 shots in this match.
Italy sealed a 2-0 win as the game headed into stoppage time. Nicolo Barella got one-on-one with the goalkeeper on the counter-attack, then chipped home with a delicate chip.
The Italian national team ended their friendly match series in the US with two victories, defeating Venezuela 2-1 and Ecuador 2-0.
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