Italy fight back to beat Israel, go second in group qualifiers | OneFootball

In a game full of twists and turns, Italy defeated Israel 5-4 on Monday in Hungary. Thus, they climbed up the rankings in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

With nine points, three less than Norway, Italy is in second place in Group I. Israel also has nine points, but is at a disadvantage in the tie-breaking criteria.

The Italian team returns to the field on October 11, when they visit Estonia at 3:45 pm (Brasília time). On the same day, Israel will host Norway at 1 pm.

The game

At the 16-minute mark, Israel took the lead. Locatelli tried to clear a cross, but scored an own goal. Italy sought the equalizer at the 40-minute mark. Barella launched, Retegui controlled and set up for Moise Kean to complete.

At 7 minutes into the second half, Israel took the lead again. Manor Solomon broke into the area and crossed for Dor Peretz to finish with style. The Italian response came quickly. Two minutes later, Retegui assisted Kean to tie the duel at 2-2.

The turnaround came at the 13-minute mark, when Matteo Politano received from Retegui and struck firmly. At the 36-minute mark, Giacomo Raspadori, who had replaced Kean, extended the advantage to 4-2.

At the 42-minute mark, Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni scored an own goal after a cross shot from Israeli Roy Revivo. Two minutes later, at the 44-minute mark, Israel tied the game with Dor Peretz, after a header from Jehezkel.

In stoppage time, at the 46-minute mark, Italy scored the winning goal. From outside the area, Sandro Tonali took a weak shot to secure the 5-4 victory.

See other results from Monday's qualifiers:

Kosovo 2 x 0 Sweden Switzerland 3 x 0 Slovenia Belarus 0 x 2 Scotland Gibraltar 0 x 1 Faroe Islands Greece 0 x 3 Denmark Croatia 4 x 0 Montenegro

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.