European soccer champion Italy has secured victory in Germany’s group A3 in the Nations League and thus participation in the final tournament next summer.
On the last day of the preliminary round, the Squadra Azzurra won the group final against the previous leaders Hungary 2-0 (1-0).
The team coached by Roberto Mancini, who had unexpectedly missed the forthcoming World Cup finals in Qatar (November 20 to December 18), caught the Magyars despite their 1-0 coup against the German team in Leipzig last Friday .
Third participant of the Final Four
Italy is the third participant in the Nations League finals. A day earlier, World Cup runners-up Croatia and ex-European champions Netherlands had already qualified for the final tournament. The fourth and last place will be played out by the premiere winner Portugal and Germany’s World Cup preliminary round opponent Spain. Defending champions and world champions France clearly missed out on first place in Croatia’s Group A1.
As in Leipzig, Hungary started with a Bundesliga quartet against Italy. But midway through the first half, Giacomo Raspadori, who scored the winning goal in last Friday’s 1-0 win over England, sobered up the hosts with the visitors’ lead. Seven minutes after the break, Hungary’s dreams of reaching the final were shattered by Federico Dimarco’s goal to give Italy a decisive 2-0 lead, with SC Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo on the bench.
