Italy won their Euro 24 qualifier against Malta thanks to first half goals from Mateo Retegui and Matteo Pessina but any thought of a goal tsunami failed to materialize.
Coach Michele said pre-match he would not “park a bus in front of goal” and Malta’s intentions were clear from the kick-off. Mbong threaded an inch perfect pass to the feet of Satariano who was denied only by the fingertips of Donnarumma.
This bright spell for Malta ended after 15 minutes when Retegul, unmarked in the box, headed home from a corner.
Italy then suffered a blow when Gnonto went off injured, with Grifo replacing him.
Pessina made it 2-0 to Italy with a close range strike just before the half hour.
Moments later, Henry Bonello produced a point blank stop to prevent Grifo putting Italy further ahead.
With the break approaching Italy upped the pressure but it was Malta who nearly found a break through when Jodi Jones burst through the Italian defence but his finishing touch just failed him.
After the break Malta showed they had no intention of lying down as Corbolan worked an opening for himself only to see his effort go wide.
Jodi Jones set off on another surging run down the wing only to be halted by Scalvini who was booked for the foul. That set up a free kick in a good position for Malta who then squandered the chance to put pressure on the Italian defence.
For all their possession, Italy never got a total stranglehold on the game.
Guillaumier went close with a header from a free kick and with ten minutes remaining Mbong’s close range strike was blocked by Emerson. A vital stop.
2-0 it ended but a battling performance from Malta.
Italy picked up their first points in the Euro 24 qualifiers but this is not the Italy of years gone by. Roberto Mancini’s rebuilding continues but this game against Malta showed he has work to do.
Michel Marcolini was disappointed with the result, saying he is never happy with a loss but said the “players had the right attitude, tried to be as positive as possible and regret that when we did create those chances, we were lacking in the final pass or shot.
“Italy are Italy, it was like climbing Mount Everest for us, at the end of the day we had a good performance.”
Photos: Domenic Aquilina
