Italy qualified for the Euro 2020 knockout stages with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Switzerland on Wednesday night.
Two goals either side of half-time from Manuel Locatelli and a late Ciro Immobile strike boosted Italy’s credentials as serious contenders to win the tournament after beating Turkey by the same scoreline five days ago.
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The result also saw Roberto Mancini’s men extend their unbeaten run to 29 matches and keep 10 consecutive clean sheets.
Italy, who are the first team to qualify for the knockout stages, thought they had broken the deadlock in the 19th minute when Giorgio Chiellini emphatically headed in from a corner, however, VAR ruled the goal out for handball.
And the veteran defender’s night got worse moments later when he was forced off the pitch with a suspected hamstring injury.
Despite the early setbacks, Italy did not let it deter them as Locatelli turned in a Domenico Berardi cutback in the 26th minute.
With Switzerland struggling to create any meaningful chances against a solid defence, Italy doubled their lead through Locatelli seven minutes after the restart.
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The Sassuolo midfielder picked up a pass from Nicolo Barella and let fly from 20 yards to leave Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer rooted to the spot as the ball hit the back of the net.
Switzerland had their first and only shot on target when Gianluigi Donnarumma made a smart save to deny Steven Zuber.
Immobile missed two chances to add to his goal tally as he failed to hit the target in good shooting position.
However, the Lazio striker got his second successive Euro 2020 goal when his powerful drive beat Sommer, who should have done better, with one minute to go.
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