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Italy clinched the top spot in Nations League Group A1 thanks to a dominant 2-0 win over Poland on Sunday with Jorginho and Domenico Berardi at the back of the net.
The Azzurri controlled the proceedings from start to finish while Robert Lewandowski kept himself under wraps for the full 90 minutes.
Jorginho scored from the penalty spot, while Berardi came in from the bench to score at his home stadium, and the result sent Italy up one point to the Netherlands for first place before Wednesday’s final match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nicolo Barella started the match with another patented back pass to Federico Bernardeschi, although Wojciech Szczesny rejected the effort. Lorenzo Insigne found the back of the net after a Barella setback, but it was canceled because Andrea Belotti was interfering with Szczesny in an offside position.
Robert Lewandowski elbowed Alessandro Bastoni’s chin in the middle of the park, however, without the VAR used in the Nations League, there was no punishment.
There was no need to replay the video minutes later when Krychowiak dropped Belotti in the penalty area with both arms, and the referee did not hesitate to signal the point. Jorginho stepped forward and sent Szczesny down the wrong path to put Italy in front.
Belotti missed Insigne’s free-kick mark to close the half as Italy headed into the break with a slight lead despite dominating possession and controlling proceedings.
Barella and Bernardeschi joined after the restart, but the Juventus player drifted off the mark, while Lorenzo Insigne attempted a patented curling shot with his right leg that was deflected into a corner.
Berardi replaced Bernardeschi and fired a volley from outside the box that barely hit the mark as Italy continued to assert their dominance against a Polish side unable to generate much in attack.
Jan Bednarek had his way with a clear hand, but Jacek Goralski was not so lucky as he got a second caution for a late challenge over Belotti in the middle of the park as Italy strengthened their hold on the match.
Italy finally got their well-deserved second to finish the match in the 84th minute through Berardi. The Azzurri put together a series of 27 passes and the last one saw Insigne pick Sassuolo’s man on the right, before cutting and shooting low in the bottom corner.
From there, the final minutes were played out like the rest of the match, with Italy now confident of moving into the next round with a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.
The post Jorginho and Belotti lead the dominant Italy beyond Poland first appeared on Forza Italian Football.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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