- Italy claimed UEFA Nations League bronze for the second tournament in succession after beating the Netherlands 3-2
- The Netherlands, who were booed by an unimpressed home crowd, have lost three of the first four games in Ronald Koeman’s second spell as manager
Italy claimed UEFA Nations League bronze for the second tournament in succession after beating the Netherlands 3-2 in Enschede.
The Azzuri took the lead six minutes into the game, thanks to Federico Dimarco’s superb left-footed strike. Davide Frattesi then doubled the lead after pouncing on a rebound from Wilfried Gnonto’s strike.
The UEFA Nations League bronze medal went the way of Italy. Photo/ SNL24.
Steven Bergwijn pulled a goal back for Netherlands in the second half before Federico Chiesa sealed the win for Roberto Mancini’s side. Georginio Wijnaldum made it 2-3 in the dying minutes of the game.
Speaking after his side hold on to Nations League bronze, Italy head coach Roberto Mancini said they did a good job even though their performance dropped in the second half.
“When you win, it’s always good. It’s not important if you play well, or just so-so. We played very well in the first half, but in the second half our performance dropped as we were so tired. We suffered together when the Netherlands attacked, but then we had the chances to score more after the third. We couldn’t score a fourth, but I think we did a good job.” UEFA.com quotes Roberto Mancini.
The Netherlands, who were booed by an unimpressed home crowd, have lost three of the first four games in Ronald Koeman’s second spell as manager. The defeat against Italy follows a 4-0 Euro 2024 qualifying humiliation by France and the 4-2 loss to Croatia in the Nations League semi-final on Wednesday. Koeman took charge of the Netherlands after the 2022 World Cup.
How The Game Unfolded
After Italy’s semi-final defeat against Spain, Roberto Mancini claimed his side “were lacking great forwards”. Well, it seemed his squad took that personally as they began raiding the Netherlands immediately after kick off.
Federico Dimarco strode onto Giacomo Raspadori’s clever back-heel and fired an absolute rocket with the outside of his boot into the far corner after just six minutes of play. The Netherlands goalkeeper Justin Bijlow had no chance at all.
As Ronald Koeman’s side struggled to get into the game, Italy doubled their lead midway through the first half thanks to Davide Frattesi. The 23-year-old Sassuolo forward made no mistake slotting beneath Justin Bijlow after Wilfried Gnonto’s deflected shot fell favourably on his path.
The Netherlands needed a miracle to turn this game around and they were left kicking themselves after Cody Gakpo missed a clear chance to reduce the gap. The Liverpool forward curled his effort just wide of the far post after being put through by Xavi Simons.
Ronald Koeman’s side came back stronger in the second half and found themselves back into the game after substitute Steven Bergwijn scored in the 68th minute. As the Netherlands pushed for an equalizer, they were caught cold on the counter with Federico Chiesa scoring Italy’s third.
Italy beat the Netherlands 3-2. Photo/ Eurosport.
Wout Weghorst though he had scored the Netherlands’ second in the 82nd minute but his effort was ruled offside following a VAR check. Wijnaldum made the scoreline 2-3 but it was already too late and the Netherlands had to accept their fate.
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