Italy, full of unusual players, feasted in Reggio Emilia, thrashed Lithuania (5-0), set foot in the Qatar 2022 World Cup and extended its formidable run of results that rises to thirty-seven matches as unbeaten.
The European champion, who became the team with the most consecutive games without losing against Switzerland, extended his record against a lesser rival. Roberto Mancini’s team took advantage of the fragility of Lithuania, which has lost all its qualifying matches, five already, to find itself with the victory after the tied ties against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Italy faced the shock with a revolution in its eleven. Only three of the players who faced the Swiss team last Sunday repeated against Lithuania. In addition to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnaruma, right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo and midfielder Jorginho.
Mancini dispensed with defenders Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Emerson, midfielders Nicolo Barella and Manuel Locatelli and the entire forward Domenico Berardi, Ciro Inmobile and Lorenzo Insigne.
They were not necessary. The transalpine team, which has not lost a game since September 10, 2018 against Portugal in the Nations League, left their homework done before half an hour when they scored four goals.
It was a party for Moise Kean and Giacomo Raspardori. Between the two they shared the prominence of the goals. Kean opened the scoring in the eleventh minute when he got in the way of a risky delivery from Arvydas Noviokas to his goalkeeper to send the ball into the net.
Three later, a Raspardori shot from the edge was deflected by Edgars Utkus and in the 24th minute the young Sassuolo striker again surpassed Ernestas Setkus by taking advantage of a rebound inside the area after a cross from the right by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
The fourth came in the 29th. Federico Bernardeschi sent an aerial ball that was picked up near the visiting goal by Moise Kean. The Juventus attacker did not let the ball bounce and scored.
The second part started with five changes. Three from Lithuania and two from Italy. One of them that of the meta Gianluigi Donnarumma who left his place to Salvatore Sirigu. Symptomatic.
Even so, Italy achieved the fifth in an aerial ball sent towards the goal by Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who received it from Bernardeschi, who unexpectedly slipped into the goal before the passivity and surprise of Setkus.
The rhythm dropped and even so the win could be greater. Gaetano Castrovilli, who replaced Jorginho at game time, sent a shot to the post.
Mancini’s team also benefited from the draw between Switzerland and Northern Ireland, which moves the Swiss team away from the first place in which Italy sits, increasingly closer to Qatar.
– Data sheet:
5 – Italy: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Salvatore Sirigu, m.46); Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Cristiano Biraghi (Davide Calabria, m.46); Matteo Pessina, Jorginho (Gaetano Castrovilli, m.61), Bryan Cristnte; Federico Bernardeschi (Gianluca Scamacca, m.62), Moise Kean (Domenico Berardi, m.73) and Giacomo Raspadori.
Selector: Roberto Mancini
0 – Lithuania: Ernestas Setkus; Justas Lasickas, Linas Klimavicius (Artemijus Tutyskinas, m.84), Edgaras Utkus (Benas Satkus, m.46), Vaidas Slavickas (Dominykas Barauskas, m.46); Martynas Dapkus (Tomas Razanauskas, m.46), Vykintas Slivka; Donatas Kazlauskas, Ovidijus Verbickas, Arvydas Novikovas and Edgaras Dubickas (Karolis Uzela, m.73).
Selector: Valdas Ivanauskas
Goals: 1-0, m.11: Moise Kean; 2-0, m.14. Edgaras Utkus in own door; 3-0, m.24: Giacomo Raspadori; 4-0, m.29: Moise Kean; 5-0, m.54: Giovanni Di Lorenzo
Referee: Craig Pawson (ING). He showed a yellow card to Linas Klimavicius.
Incidents: match of the sixth day of Group C of the qualifying phase for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, played at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia. EFE (HN)