Tag: Italy

Sandro Tonali earned Italy a thrilling 5-4 win against Israel on Monday with the decisive late strike in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier, just as it looked the Azzurri were plunging into another crisis.

Newcastle United midfielder Tonali wheeled off in celebration in stoppage time when his speculative effort went through a sea of legs and into the net to win a rollercoaster of a match in Debrecen, Hungary, which Italy looked to have thrown away.

The Azzurri, who have missed the last two World Cups, were leading 4-2 in the 81st minute when substitute Giacomo Raspadori rolled home almost immediately after replacing the impressive Moise Kean, who netted Italy’s first two goals.

However, a clumsy Alessandro Bastoni own-goal and Dor Peretz’s header drew Israel level before Tonali’s fortunate effort moved Italy up to second in Group I, level on nine points with Israel, who have played a game more, and in the play-off spot.

“We’ll take the win, which was crucial for us, but we’re completely nuts, nuts because we conceded some absurd goals,” said Gennaro Gattuso.

“We need to work on that because we’re too fragile, and we concede goals too easily. The boys know that, but this is my problem to fix.

“You have to give credit to the boys because every time they took a slap, they dared to react and fight back.”

Italy trail leaders Norway by three points and still have a chance of taking first place and the group’s sole direct qualifying spot.

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Monday’s match had cast a political cloud over Gattuso’s first fixtures in charge of Italy due to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The small group of Italian fans present turned their backs to the pitch during the Israeli national anthem, while boos also rang out from sections of the stadium, before then holding up banners which read “stop”.

And the Italians on the pitch looked equally uninterested in the match come kick-off, with Israel snappier and more aggressive than the four-time world champions.

The nominal home had already had a goal disallowed by the time Locatelli bundled Dan Biton’s cross into his own net.

Locatelli almost made up for his own-goal when he struck the bar with an acrobatic volley in the 31st minute, seconds before Kean wasted a great opportunity from a Gianluca Mancini cut-back.

But 10 minutes later, Kean thumped a low drive past Daniel Peretz after collecting a knockdown from strike partner Mateo Retegui.

And Kean came to the rescue again nine minutes after the break, levelling with another powerful low shot just seconds after Peretz put Israel ahead for the second time with a brilliant first-time effort.

Politano finally put Italy ahead with a great volley after more fine work from Retegui, and when Raspadori rolled home the fourth, it seemed the away team looked out of the woods.

But it took Tonali’s unusual winner to finally secure the three points after uncharacteristically bad defending nearly left Italy’s hopes of qualification hanging by a thread.

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Pakistani-origin Italy batter Zain Naqvi has named Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam and England’s explosive wicketkeeper Jos Buttler as his cricketing idols.

Italy recently created history by securing qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, their first-ever appearance at the global event.

They finished second in the Europe Region Final, with the Netherlands topping the table. The 2026 edition of the tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

In an exclusive conversation with ARY News, Zain said qualifying for the mega event had been a collective dream and the result of year-long preparation.

“Our team had one goal, to qualify for the [T20] World Cup,” he said.

“We’ve been preparing for the qualifiers for over a year. Beating Scotland was a major achievement for us.”

Naqvi, who originally hails from Kot Jaffar, a village in Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan, moved to Italy with his parents at the age of 12.

He shared that his grandfather had always dreamt of seeing him play international cricket for Italy.

“I started with tape-ball cricket, like most of the Pakistani community here,” he said.

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“Eventually, I moved into professional cricket and earned my place in the national side through consistent performances in domestic competitions.”

Zain Naqvi admitted that cricket still trails far behind football in terms of popularity in Italy, and acknowledged it will take time for the sport to grow.

“Cricket doesn’t get much attention here; most people are focused on football,” he said.

“Italy doesn’t get many international fixtures from the ICC either, but now that we’ve qualified for the World Cup, we hope to get more opportunities.”

He added that efforts are underway to promote the game at the grassroots level across Italy.

“We’re actively working to promote cricket at the grassroots level,” he added.

When asked about his cricketing idols, Zain named Babar Azam as his favourite player, while also revealing that he models his batting style after England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler.

“I really admire Babar Azam,” he said. “And in terms of playing style, I try to follow Jos Buttler.”

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THE Hague: The Italy cricket team is on the brink of history as they stand just one win away from securing a berth in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after defeating Scotland by 12 runs. 

Italy secured a narrow win in the seventh match of the Europe region final here at the Sportpark Westvliet, Voorburg on Wednesday.

The surprising victory moved the European nation ahead of Scotland and Jersey to the top of the points table, with two wins from three matches, one of which was abandoned.

Now, popularly known as a football-loving nation, Italy is one win away from a T20 World Cup berth set to be played next year in India and Sri Lanka.

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Italy’s skipper, Joe Burns, and Former Australian opener, decided to bat first, scoring 167-6 in their allocated 20 overs.

 

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The experienced player from the county circuit, Emilio Gay, proved his worth with a blazing half century of just balls with the aid of six boundaries and two maximums.

Harry Manenti’s run a ball 38 runs provided ample support from the other end while Grant Stewart, who contributed a quick 44 from 27 deliveries, ensured a strong finish at the back end of the innings.

 

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In reply, Scotland’s George Munsey struck 72 off 61 deliveries to keep his team in the hunt; however, Manenti’s brilliant show with the ball sealed an emphatic win for Italy.

Player of the Match Harry Manenti took five wickets for 31 runs in his quota of four overs.

Italy will face the Netherlands in their final match on Friday. A victory would pave their way toward a historic World Cup berth.

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Gennaro Gattuso said Thursday he is convinced Italy can qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as he begins his reign as Azzurri coach following the dismissal of Luciano Spalletti.

Italy are at risk of missing out on a third consecutive FIFA World Cup after a troubled start to their qualifying campaign, which has left them nine points behind Group I leaders Norway and cost Spalletti his job.

Asked whether he had more hope or conviction that Italy could reach next year’s finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Gattuso said: “conviction”.

“I believe that we have good players available to us. We have four or five who are among the top 10 in the world in their position,” added Gattuso.

“We have a good team, but I do mean team, I’m not thinking about individuals. I’m convinced that the team has quality, and I’m convinced that we can achieve our goal.”

Gattuso has a tough job on his hands with only the top spot in the group giving automatic qualification to the World Cup, even with Italy having played two fewer games than Norway.

As well as the significant points gap, Italy have a goal difference which is 12 goals worse than Norway, who hammered Italy 3-0 earlier in June.

That leaves Italy with the play-offs, from which they failed to reach the last two tournaments, as their only realistic shot at qualification.

“We need to bring back the enthusiasm and not think negatively. My goal is to make sure that the players that come to (Italy’s training centre) Coverciano do so with great enthusiasm, and to create a family,” said Gattuso.

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“After formations, technique and tactics, the priority is to recreate that mentality that in the past has made us stand out.”

Gennaro Gattuso, a World Cup winner in 2006, was not the Italian Football Federation’s first choice to replace Spalletti.

Claudio Ranieri eventually turned down an appeal to come out of retirement, for a second time, to save his country’s footballing fortunes.

But Italy icon Gianluigi Buffon, now head of the national team delegation, said he believes Gattuso is capable of defying those who doubt his capabilities after an up-and-down coaching career.

Gattuso, 47, was recently sacked by Hadjuk Split but has also managed AC Milan and Napoli, winning the Italian Cup with the latter club five years ago.

“I had a long playing career and every time I faced one of Rino’s teams with Juventus, they gave us a hard time, you had the idea that his teams had a precise identity, and that there was a lot of work and thought behind them,” said Buffon.

“It’s very simple, when you’re on the pitch, you can tell straight away if behind the other team, there is a good coach or not. And every time I faced his Milan or Napoli team, I could tell that was the case.”

Gattuso will be in the dugout for the first time in September when Italy host Estonia in Bergamo before travelling to Hungary to take on Israel.

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Spain qualified for the last 16 of Euro 2024 with a match to spare on Thursday after beating defending champions Italy 1-0 in a dominant display which ensured that La Roja would go through as Group B winners.

Riccardo Calafiori’s own goal nine minutes after half-time was the difference between the two sides in the biggest match to date at the tournament in Germany.

But the slender margin of victory in Gelsenkirchen didn’t reflect a statement performance from Spain who completely nullified Italy and should have had the game won by half-time, as they did in their opening round thumping of Croatia.

Nico Williams was the star for Spain as he ran Napoli right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo ragged and supplied the cross from which the unfortunate Calafiori poked the winning goal into his own net.

“We had quite a few really good chances, but we’re very happy because we showed that we are a great team and that we can stifle any team,” said Spain captain Alvaro Morata.

Luis de la Fuente’s team have a perfect six points at the top of the group and take on Albania on Monday knowing that they are already in the knockout rounds and playing like potential champions.

For Italy, Thursday’s deserved defeat was a reality check as vibrant Spain peppered the brilliant Gianliugi Donnarumma’s goal throughout the match.

“We misplaced too many easy passes and didn’t play with enough quality. If you make that many mistakes you are going to be punished,” said Donnarumma who made eight saves.

It was a performance reminiscent of the Euro 2012 final between the two teams when Spain crushed Italy 4-0.

However, all is not lost for Luciano Spalletti’s team, who are second on three points, as a draw with Croatia on Monday will be enough to guarantee qualification behind Spain.

“We created some situations with which we could have equalised, but they were much better than us. They deserved to win,” said Spalletti to RAI.

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Spain could have been ahead twice in the first 10 minutes but squandered two great-headed chances.

Less than two minutes were on the clock when an unmarked Pedri nodded Williams’ pinpoint cross straight at Donnarumma.

And then Williams, who had a field day against Di Lorenzo, was the guilty party by somehow heading wide Morata’s superbly delivered, inswinging ball from the left flank.

Spain were clearly on top as Italy struggled to get out of their half, Gianluca Scamacca toiling on his own up front with little support and wasting possession when it did come his way.

Donnarumma had to be at his best twice within a matter of seconds when he first stuck out a foot to deny Morata and then pulled off a superb fingertip save which kept out Fabian Ruiz’s powerful drive from distance.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was a virtual spectator as Italy’s sole shot in the first half came just before the break when Federico Chiesa blazed a poor effort over from a difficult position.

The same pattern of Spanish possession and Italian defending continued after half-time and Pedri again wasted a great chance in the 51st minute, slamming wide after Marc Cucurella pulled back a perfect low cross.

But Spain got the breakthrough soon after and it came through more sensational play from Williams on the left, who made mincemeat of Di Lorenzo before fizzing across a ball which Calafiori couldn’t help but divert home.

La Roja went close to doubling their lead with two distance strikes from Morata and teen sensation Lamine Yamal before the superb Williams smashed an effort past Donnarumma which came crashing out off the crossbar in the 71st minute.

Italy pushed forward in the hope of an equaliser after Mattia Zaccagni and Mateo Retegui replaced the ineffective Chiesa and Scamacca.

But in the dying moments, Donnarumma again made two superb saves to twice stop Ayoze Perez making the scoreline better reflect a one-sided contest.

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Italy recovered from conceding the fastest goal in European Championship history to begin their title defence with a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday after Spain made a dream start to their Euro 2024 campaign by beating Croatia 3-0.

Albania went ahead after just 23 seconds against Italy in the Group B opener in Dortmund as Nedim Bajrami scored to the delight of their huge support.

Bajrami’s strike destroyed the previous record for the quickest goal at the Euros, of 67 seconds by Dmitri Kirichenko for Russia against Greece in 2004.

However, Italy kept their calm and equalised when Alessandro Bastoni headed in at the back post on 11 minutes, before Nicolo Barella’s glorious effort put them ahead just past the quarter-hour mark.

That proved to be enough for the Euro 2020 winners, with Davide Frattesi coming closest to adding another for the Italians as he hit the post before half-time.

“It was a negative situation but we did really well to turn it around,” said Italy’s Federico Chiesa, who played in the final three years ago when they came back to beat England on penalties despite conceding inside two minutes.

“We had a flashback to the Euro 2020 final when we went behind immediately, and we were great today because together we took control of the match as a team, just as the manager wants from us.”

Italy, whose line-up at kick-off featured only five players who started that final against England, now move on to a heavyweight showdown with Spain on Thursday in Gelsenkirchen.

Spain, the three-time European champions, made a dream start to their Euro 2024 campaign as they tore apart a disappointing Croatia at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

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Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock before the half-hour mark and Fabian Ruiz soon made it 2-0, with Dani Carvajal getting the third goal just prior to the interval.

The day was also notable for Lamine Yamal, Spain’s Barcelona winger, becoming the youngest player in the competition’s history at 16 years and 338 days old.

Morata’s goal was his seventh at the European Championship, a tally which allowed him to move joint-third on the all-time list alongside Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo, with 14, and Michel Platini, who got all of his nine goals on France’s run to glory in 1984, are ahead of them.

“Of course this give us a boost, and settles us, but in five days we have a big game against Italy,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

“Above all we have to stay calm, our target is still very far away, we have to just keep our feet on the ground.”

It was a chastening night for Croatia, the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists.

They thought they had claimed a consolation when substitute Bruno Petkovic tapped in after his penalty was saved by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon.

But the goal was ruled out by VAR for encroachment by Ivan Perisic, and Croatia now face Albania in a key game for both sides in Hamburg on Wednesday.

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Former Australia Test opener Joe Burns will represent Italy to help the European nation qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as a tribute to his late brother Dominic. 

Burns’ brother Dominic passed away in February this year after representing Australia in 23 Tests between 2014 and 2020.

The opening batter was linked with Queensland since 2011 but did not manage to attain a contract for the 2024-25 domestic season in Australia.

“This isn’t just a number and this isn’t just a jersey,” Joe Burns wrote on Instagram while sharing a picture of the Italian jersey with the number 85 on it.

“This is for the people who I know will be looking down proudly from above.

“In February of this year, my brother sadly passed away. 85 was his number in the last team he played (and his birth year) for the mighty Northern Federals in sub-districts.”

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Notably, Joe Burns is already eligible to represent Italy due to his mother’s heritage.

“I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my Grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia,” Burns wrote on Instagram.

“They found a way to make it work through adversity and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons.”

It is worth mentioning here that Italy are yet to qualify for a World Cup in any format.

They narrowly missed out on sealing their spot in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as they finished third in the European Qualifiers.

“I’m so proud to represent Italy on our path to the 2026 World Cup,” Burns added.

“The fields of Rome may be a long way from the Gabba, MCG or our front yard growing up, but I feel like I’m coming home.”

The European side will kick start their expedition to book their place in the next edition of the T20 World Cup next month at a sub-regional tournament in Rome.

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Italy return to the scene of their Euro 2020 triumph at Wembley on Tuesday to face an England side enhanced by the emergence of Jude Bellingham as one of the world’s best players.

Bellingham was an unused substitute when the Azzurri broke English hearts on home soil just over two years ago, winning a penalty shootout to extend the Three Lions’ wait for major tournament glory.

The 20-year-old Bellingham is now central to Gareth Southgate’s plans as England look to seal qualification for Euro 2024 with revenge over the Italians.

Bellingham announced himself on the international stage with a series of eye-catching performances at last year’s World Cup.

Despite more pain in Qatar as they exited in the quarter-finals to France, a frightening array of talent available to Southgate makes England among the favourites for next year’s Euro.

Bellingham is the star attraction after scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games for Real Madrid since a 103 million euro ($112 million) move from Borussia Dortmund.

The former Birmingham midfielder has earned comparisons with Madrid greats Alfredo di Stefano and Zinedine Zidane for his blistering start in the Spanish capital.

England full-back Kieran Trippier knows the scrutiny that comes with playing in Madrid from his time with Atletico and believes Bellingham can now be the difference in delivering a major tournament for his country.

“He can be the difference. At such a young age, with the maturity, the quality and the aggression he’s got, he’s frightening,” said Newcastle’s Trippier.

“It’s not a surprise at all, the standards that he’s set in Madrid.

“You can see he’s playing with freedom and the players around him are going to make him even better. The scary thing is he’s only 20 years old.”

Bellingham is also far from England’s only weapon as they aim to conquer Europe in Germany next year.

Bukayo Saka missed the decisive spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final but has bounced back to lead Arsenal’s renaissance and become undroppable at the international level.

Jack Grealish, Declan Rice and Harry Kane have also all moved clubs for more than 100 million euros over the past two years.

Grealish, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones were treble winners with Manchester City last season, while James Maddison has flourished since his summer move to Tottenham.

“We lost in the Euros final but the most important thing is we’re progressing and doing very well,” added Trippier.

“We’ve got goals from all over the pitch. Jude, Maddison, Bukayo, Phil are still young but can all change games in certain moments.”

Kane remains the most reliable source of goals and became his country’s all-time leading scorer as England won in Italy for the first time since 1961 in March.

That result and four points from a possible six against Ukraine have put Southgate’s men in pole position to qualify.

By contrast, Italy followed up their Euro success by failing to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup and still have work to do to reach Germany.

Defeat in London would leave Luciano Spalletti’s men level on points with Ukraine and facing a decisive showdown with the war-torn nation next month to qualify.

Spalletti has only been in charge since August after Roberto Mancini departed to take the riches on offer as boss of Saudi Arabia.

Italy’s chances of another famous victory at Wembley have not been helped by two of their English-based players being sent home in a betting scandal.

Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo of Aston Villa were released from the squad after being investigated by criminal prosecutors for alleged gambling offences.

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Reigning champions Italy eased to a 4-0 victory over Malta in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday, while Denmark strengthened their position and dented the hopes of outsiders Kazakhstan.

Giacomo Bonaventura curled in his first Italy goal and Domenico Berardi produced a fine strike of his own to double the lead in Bari.

Berardi struck again in the second half before Davide Frattesi rounded off a comfortable evening for Luciano Spalletti’s side who kept hold of second place in Group C of Euro 2024 qualifiers ahead of next week’s showdown with England.

“That match is where we will really see how much potential we have,” Spalletti told broadcaster RAI.

Italy, with a game in hand, closed to within three points of England going into their clash at Wembley.

“It will definitely be emotional, I have amazing memories from that stadium,” said Berardi, who played in Italy’s Euro 2020 shoot-out final win over England.

“We’ll go there trying to do what we did today, play our own game and look to win.”

Ukraine are level with Italy after a 2-0 win over North Macedonia in Prague.

Georgiy Sudakov put Ukraine ahead on 30 minutes and substitute Oleksandr Karavaiev sealed victory deep into stoppage time, ahead of their visit to Malta next week.

Denmark avenged their shock loss to Kazakhstan in March as Robert Skov netted twice in a 3-1 win in Copenhagen.

Jonas Wind set the Danes, semi-finalists at Euro 2020, on their way before Skov scored a quick-fire double either side of half-time.

Kazakhstan pulled one back via Yan Vorogovskiy but they fell four points off the pace in Group H of Euro 2024 qualifiers.

“First of all, we must be happy about a victory in a European qualifier at home. It hasn’t been plain sailing in this group,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand told broadcaster TV2.

“It was an extremely important home game, and we were forced to win. The pressure was there, and we got the victory we had to.”

Benjamin Sesko’s brace powered Slovenia to a 3-0 win over Finland in Ljubljana.

Sesko’s first came from the penalty spot and the RB Leipzig forward added another with a clinical finish, taking him to eight goals in his last 11 international appearances.

Defender Erik Janza grabbed a late third for Slovenia, who lead Denmark at the top on goal difference. The two countries meet in Copenhagen on November 17.

Slovenia are away to Northern Ireland next week and Denmark will be almost certain to beat San Marino — losers in all but one of 82 previous Euro qualifiers.

Northern Ireland beat San Marino 3-0 for only their second win in seven outings.

Hungary seized control of Group G thanks to a 2-1 victory at home to Serbia.

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BUDAPEST: Italy, who will miss a second consecutive World Cup, again found consolation in Europe as they won 2-0 in Budapest on Monday to edge Hungary for first place in their Nations League group.

Giacomo Raspadori, who scored the winner against England on Friday, poked the ball home after Wilfried Gnonto had pounced on a poor Hungarian back pass to give Italy the lead in the 27th minute.

“We needed these matches to restore enthusiasm, even if the World Cup remains an open wound and we can not go back,” said Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“We have to start again, we have to do it for all of Italy.”

Hungary, who started the final round of games top of Group A3, fought hard but Donnarumma made two miraculous saves in quick succession in the 50th minute from Loic Nego and Adam Szalai.

Two minutes later, Federico Dimarco met a Bryan Cristante cross at the back post to smash in his first international goal and Italy’s 1,500th.

Donnarumma produced another outstanding to keep out a header from Callum Styles (55th).

Italy held on to follow the Netherlands and Croatia into the Nations League final four scheduled for June 2023.

“We were excellent for 70 minutes, the last 20 I didn’t like too much,” said Italy coach Roberto Mancini.

“We’re happy, it’s important to have reached the Nations League final four for the second time.”

Spain or Portugal meet on Tuesday to decide the last ticket for a chance to succeed France as champion.

Italy, who fell to a low point in March, less than a year after their Euro 2020 title, when they failed to qualify for the World Cup, have a another European final tournament to look forward to.

Hungary’s surprising run through the group had recalled some of the triumphs of the feats of the Magic Magyars of the 1950s.

They gained a first competitive victory over Germany since 1954 and a first win away to England since 1954 but still have not beaten Italy since 1955.

The defeat also brought to an end the international career of Hungary captain Adam Szalai, who had said he is retiring from international football at 34 and received an ovation as he went off after 75 minutes.

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