Published 14:20 IST, October 13th 2019
Euro 2020 Qualifiers: Italy beat Greece 2-0 to secure Euro 2020 spot
Italy beat Greece to register their 7thwin in the qualifiers on Saturday and to secure their spot in Euro 2020 after failing qualify for World Cup last year
- SportFit
- 3 min read
After their failure to qualify for the last World Cup, Italy secured their spot in the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 with an easy win against Greece. Courtesy of goals by Jorginho and Federico Bernardeschi, Italy thumped Greece with a 2-0 win in Rome on Saturday. Out in their new 'Renaissance' green kit, infront of their home crowd, Italy scored a home run with the win over Greece to earn 21 points with 7 wins from the 7 games played so far. Roberto Mancini's Italy now sit on top of the Group J while Greece stand 5th in the group.
Jorginho, Bernardeschi score to help Italy win
The goalless first half saw fans booing Italy as they even failed to shoot the ball on target. However, with a bit of determination and luck, Italy opened their account in the second half of the game courtesy of Andreas Bouchalakis' hand ball in the box. Greece's defensive blunder was a blessing in disguise for the Italians as Chelsea midfielder Jorginho converted the penalty earned to take 1-0 lead in the match. Greece's goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis had a busy day at the office but made some super saves to make it difficult for the Italians and was nothing less than a delight to watch whereas his Italian counterpart Gianluigi Donnarumma had a rather light day. However, his reflex save to deny Dimitri Limnios' effort in the 12th minute was vital in ensuring Italy secure a clean sheet. With just 12 minutes to go in the game, Federico Bernardeschi poured water over Greece's hopes of a comeback with an elegant strike finding the bottom-left corner from distance. Bernardeschi helped Italy to take a 2-0 lead in the match to secure a spot in the Euro 2020 after failing to qualify for the World Cup last year.
Italy to face Liechtenstein next
Italy's manager Roberto Mancini after the win said that he was happy to get the team out of a complicated situation. "In a very short span of time, we've managed to create a team. It wasn't easy but we have to thank the players who quickly adapted to each other," said the manager. Italy will next face Liechtenstein on October 15, while Greece hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina on the same day.
Updated 15:01 IST, October 13th 2019