Enschede [Netherlands], June 18 : Italy edged past Netherlands to clinch the bronze medal in th UEFA Nations League in an eyewatering 3-2 encounter at the Twente Stadium on Sunday.
Italy didn't waste time to make their impression against the Dutch team as they took the lead after six minutes with Federico Dimarco.
The Italian, who caught everyone's eye in the UEFA Champions League final, fired a superb left-footed strike into the far corner to leave goalkeeper Justin Bijlow with no chance following Raspadori's clever back-heel to find him initially.
The Azzurri doubled their advantage in the next 14 minutes with Davide Frattesi registering his name on the scoresheet this time. He was alive to a rebound from Wilfried Gnonto's shot, when the opportunity arrived he showcased great composure to send the ball past Bijlow from close range.
Before the end of the first half, Cody Gakpo had a massive opportunity to get his team back into the game just five minutes before half-time.
But the Liverpool forward saw his effort go wide of the far post after being set up perfectly by Xavi Simons.
At the half-time mark, Italy had a comfortable lead in their hand. But the Netherlands managed to execute a comeback in the second half.
The hosts improved with each passing moment of the second half. Substitute Steven Bergwijn came off the bench and pulled one back to give them a glimmer of hope.
However, their celebrations were short-lived as moments later Italy's winger Federico Chiesa found the bottom corner following a swift counterattack.
Georginio Wijnaldum set up a finale to watch as he looped the ball over the Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to cut the deficit back to one. But in the end, Italy survived the final nine minutes of added time to claim the victory.
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