Belgium beat Italy 2-0 at the San Siro on Thursday evening in the UEFA Nations League, League A stage. Mika Godts opened the scoring in the twentieth minute before Dodi Lukebakio doubled the advantage after the hour mark. The result means the visitors move into third place in their group, while Italy remain in fourth.
Godts had the ball in the net by the twentieth minute, a finish that caught the home side flat-footed. Italy responded with possession but struggled to create clear opportunities. Belgium stayed compact and struck on the break, and here's the thing — they had not won since their opening fixture.
Nicolas Raskin picked up a yellow card in the twenty-fifth minute, followed by Diego Moreira's booking in the twenty-ninth. Kevin De Bruyne came on for Moreira in the fifty-eighth minute, a tactical shift that changed the tempo. Gianluca Mancini went into the referee's book in the sixty-third minute as Italy pushed forward.
By then we had called for a Belgium win, and the match played out as predicted. Their expected goals figure of 2.67 told you something about the quality of chances created, even if you are not looking at the xG charts. Italy's 1.52 showed they were knocking on the door without finding the rhythm.
Belgium's shot accuracy sat at 44 per cent compared with Italy's 29, and eight shots on target against six tells a different story. The hosts dominated possession at 56 per cent but could not convert their territory into goals. Italy had 121 attacks to Belgium's 71, yet the visitors took their moments.
The away end never stopped, and Belgium held firm after Lukebakio's goal in the sixty-ninth minute. Four yellow cards for the visitors matched Italy's single booking, but the difference was in the final third. The clean-sheet run came to an end for Italy, who had kept two consecutive shutouts before this match.
