UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers | Italy 2-0 Greece: 3 talking points

#2 Hard-fought victory for the Azzurri

Greece did not make the job easy for Italy.

Greece came into the fixture with Italy with next to no chance of qualifying for the tournament but the 2004 champions did their utmost to frustrate the hosts.

Head coach John van't Schip set his side up to defend deep with as many as nine players behind the ball on many occasions during the game.

Greece also did threaten the hosts sparingly and had the first real chance of the game in the 12th minute. Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into a diving save to parry a shot by PAOK winger Dimitris Limnios.

Italy's job was made much harder when Federico Chiesa - who has been one of the creative sparks in their recent ascent - was forced off with injury 39 minutes into the game. His replacement Federico Bernadeschi, however, made a major impact in the game and combined well with Ciro Immobile on some occasions.

The handball by Andreas Bouchakalis gave Italy an opening for Jorginho to put them ahead and Bernadeschi capped off a fine display with a well-taken goal from distance.

In total, Italy managed just four shots on target, with the first of those coming in the 54th minute. It might not have been as convincing a victory as many would have expected but the most important thing was securing the win and qualification..