Italy beats Turkey 3-1 in Nations League match

Italy finished their first set of Nations League games with a solid 3-1 win over Turkey at the Dall’Ara Stadium in Bologna on Monday. This win keeps their hopes for the quarter-finals alive.

Gianluca Scamacca scored first for Italy in the 26th minute. Soon after the hour mark, Aral Simsir equalized for Turkey. Italy responded quickly with goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Pio Esposito to secure the win.

Italy is now in second place in Group A1, three points behind leaders France and one point ahead of Belgium. Turkey is at the bottom of the table and still looking for their first point.

“Even though we had made a lot of changes, there was fatigue all around, and we struggled a bit,” said coach Roberto Mancini. He started with recent debutants Alessandro Romano and Issa Doumbia in midfield and the uncapped Antonio Vergara on the wing.

“But we did well to score, and then to score again right after they equalized. We have to keep playing. We’re currently in second place, and we’ll likely have to fight to secure that spot in Belgium.”

Italy is rebuilding under Mancini, who is back for a second term as coach of a team that has not qualified for the last three World Cups. They beat Turkey 4-1 in the first match and drew 1-1 with France in Paris.

Turkey came into the match missing some key players. Coach Vincenzo Montella had to do without the suspended Arda Guler and injured players Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu.

After a slow start, Turkey showed some promise early on. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had to react quickly to save shots from Ozan Kabak and Salih Ozcan.

In the 26th minute, Italy found the net. Giovanni Di Lorenzo sent a cross from the right. It deflected slightly before Scamacca shot the ball past Ugurcan Cakir in goal for Turkey.

This was Scamacca’s second international goal, following his first against England three years ago. “I am overjoyed,” he said after the match. “Not so much about the goal, but rather the result, given that winning was crucial for us. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, because Turkey are an aggressive team, but we played an excellent match.”

Turkey pushed hard early in the second half and equalized just after the hour mark. Zeki Celik made a great run down the right and crossed into the box for Simsir to score.

But the tie lasted only a couple of minutes. Former Bologna defender Calafiori headed in a free-kick to put Italy back in front. Esposito sealed the win with his seventh goal in 13 matches, scoring three minutes before the end.