Mateo Retegui steals the show as Italy thrash Estonia 5-0 | OneFootball

At the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy handed Estonia a heavy 5-0 defeat in a group stage match of the European Qualifiers for the World Cup. Without a doubt, the standout figure of the night was Mateo Retegui, who scored a brace that sealed the match.

The Argentine striker, now an Italian national, showed his goal-scoring instincts by netting in the 69th minute after a pass from Raspadori, and then again near the end, in the 89th minute, assisted by Cambiaso. Both goals helped to widen the lead on the scoreboard and secure a resounding victory for the team managed by Gennaro Gattuso.

The goals came in the second half: Kean opened the scoring in the 58th minute, assisted by a backheel from Retegui himself. Then, in addition to Retegui's brace, Raspadori, Di Lorenzo, and Bastoni also scored, with Bastoni sealing the rout in the 92nd minute.

The match, played on September 5 at the Gewiss Stadium as part of the fifth week of the group stage of the European Qualifiers for the World Cup, saw a devastating second half for the home side.

Retegui, unstoppable (REUTERS).

Italy in third place

With this result, here are the standings in the European Qualifiers for the World Cup group. Norway leads with 12 points, the result of 4 wins, with 13 goals for and only 2 against. Next is Israel, with 9 points after 3 wins and 1 loss, totaling 11 goals for and 6 against. Italy, after this victory, sits in third place with 6 points, from 2 wins and 1 loss, with 7 goals for and 3 against. Estonia is in fourth place with 3 points, having won only 1 match and lost 4, with 5 goals for and 13 against. Moldova is at the bottom of the table with no points, with 4 losses, 2 goals for, and 14 against.

The Italian superiority was reflected in the statistics. With 70% ball possession and a 90% pass accuracy, they dominated the match. Estonia, with just 4 shots on target, suffered from Italy's effectiveness, who scored 5 goals from 40 shots. The visitors committed more fouls, but the Azzurri were more effective in tackles.

How Italy and Estonia arrived

Italy came into this match against Estonia with an inconsistent run in their recent games. In their last six matches, they collected two wins (2-0 against Moldova and 1-0 against Belgium), one draw (3-3 with Germany), and three losses (3-0 to Norway, 2-1 to Germany, and 3-1 to France).

Although the team showed solidity at times, the lack of consistency in defense and irregularity in attack raised doubts ahead of this match, corresponding to matchday 5 of the group stage of the European Qualifiers for the World Cup. Coach Gennaro Gattuso was looking for a convincing win to help the team regain confidence and get back on track for qualification.

Gennaro Gattuso's debut was a success. EFE.

For their part, Estonia faced this match with an urgent need to earn points to improve their position in the standings. Jurgen Henn's team arrived in Bergamo with a poor recent record: a 3-2 win over Moldova, a goalless draw against Azerbaijan, and four defeats (1-0 to Norway, 3-1 to Israel, 2-1 to Israel, and 1-0 to Slovakia).

The lack of goals and defensive frailty were the main concerns for the Estonian team, who were hoping to spring a surprise in Italy and pick up important points in their fight for World Cup qualification. However, the outlook was not encouraging, and the visitors would need to show a much better version of themselves if they wanted to compete on equal terms with the Azzurri.

Italy: G. Donnarumma; F. Dimarco, R. Calafiori, A. Bastoni, G. Di Lorenzo; M. Zaccagni, S. Tonali, N. Barella, M. Politano; M. Retegui, and M. Kean. Coach: Gennaro Gattuso.

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