Italy beat Netherlands in Nations League third-place match

Leading by two goals early, Roberto Mancini and his team had to struggle to keep the result in the final minutes to win 3-2.

*Goals: Bergwijn 68', Wijnaldum 89' - Dimarco 6', Frattesi 20', Chiesa 72'.

Federico Chiesa celebrates after making it 3-1 for Italy. Photo: AFP — Federico Chiesa celebrates after making it 3-1 for Italy. Photo: *AFP*

The Netherlands were superior in every aspect with 57% possession and nine shots, six of which were on target. Italy had just seven shots, three of which were on target. But they scored on all three occasions.

The match took place at the De Grolsch Veste stadium, home of FC Twente in Enschede, meaning the Netherlands benefited from the support of nearly 30,000 home fans. However, the "Orange Storm" could not take advantage of that. Instead, they lost focus in the early stages of the match, leading to two early goals.

In the sixth minute, after two consecutive crosses from the wings, Italy opened the scoring thanks to a powerful diagonal shot from defender Federico Dimarco. In this situation, the home team's forward line did not have the necessary support for right-back Denzel Dumfries, leading to him having to double-mark and being unable to prevent his Inter Milan teammate from scoring.

* Continued update

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