Belgium 0-1 Italy: Tonali nets winner to send visitors to the final eight

Italy sealed their place in the Nations League quarter-finals and ended Belgium's hopes of advancing with a 1-0 victory in Brussels, courtesy of Sandro Tonali's goal.

Match Report

Tonali – who recently returned to action after serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules – scored his first senior international goal in the 11th minute.

He fired home after Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback deflected off Zeno Debast and fell kindly into his path at close range. 

Luciano Spalletti's visitors continued to enjoy the better of the play in the first half, with Nicolo Rovella going close when he fired high and wide in the 25th minute.

Mateo Retegui was denied by Koen Casteels when one-on-one after half-time, while Gianluigi Donnarumma was called into action at the other end by Debast and Lois Openda.

Belgium's best chance for an equaliser fell to defender Wout Faes seven minutes from time, but he headed against the post when left unmarked in the centre of the box, leaving the Red Devils locked in a battle with Israel to avoid finishing bottom of Group A2.

Data Debrief: Azzurri flying on the road

Italy have now won three competitive away matches in a row within the same season, beating France, Israel and Belgium.

They last achieved that feat between June and November 2019, winning five in a row in qualifying for Euro 2020.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

0' Frattesi with the outside of his boot veers into the arms of the home keeper

10' Tonali taps in to open the scoring for the visitors! Belgium 0-1 Italy

24' Rovella misses the target after great work of Azzurri

25' Highlight from Belgium vs Italy

27' Castagne is cautioned by the referee for a foul on Tonali

43' Debast's block on Tonali was as crucial as Barella's outside-of-the-boot pass

49' Highlight from Belgium vs Italy

50' Debast lets fly with a strike from distance that Donnarumma does well to hold

51' Trossard with his powerful, right-footed strike only just flying over the bar

53' Casteels makes a wonderful save to stop Retegui in one-on-one

55' Match Event for Belgium vs Italy

57' Openda drills in a crisp effort from tight angle and Donnarumma makes good save

67' Onana sees yellow for foul on Barella

78' Lukaku's header narrowly wide of the far post

83' Faes rises highest to flick a deft back-header goalwards but it hits the bar!

Line-ups

Belgium XI: Lukaku, Casteels, Trossard, Castagne, Wout Faes, Openda, Amadou Onana, Maxim De Cuyper, Arne Engels, Zeno Debast, Arthur Theate

Subs: Sels, Dodi Lukébakio, Mangala, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Maarten Vandevoordt, Killian Sardella, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Johan Bakayoko, Samuel Mbangula, Arthur Vermeeren, Matte Smets

Italy XI: Di Lorenzo, Dimarco, Barella, Donnarumma, Bastoni, Frattesi, Buongiorno, Tonali, Mateo Retegui, Rovella, Andrea Cambiaso

Subs: Meret, Locatelli, Guglielmo Vicario, Kean, Giacomo Raspadori, Okoli, Destiny Udogie, Maldini, Nicolò Savona, Federico Gatti, Niccolò Pisilli, Pietro Comuzzo