Italy vs Belgium Player Ratings: A scintillating draw unfolded in the Italian capital

The two heavyweights of European football Italy and Belgium faced off each other in a captivating 2-2 draw in the UEFA Nations League matchweek third fixture of the group B at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.

The hosts, Italy made an intimidating start in the game by breaking the deadlock within first minute of the match thanks to Andrea Cambiaso’s goal and later Mateoe Retegui got the chance in front of open goal to double their lead over the visiting Belgians. However, Lorenzo Pellegrini’s red card sent off entirely changed the course of the game and led to tie.

Consequently, Belgium’s Maxim De Cuyper combined with Youri Tielemans and Leandro Trossard to pull one goal back courtesy of well-worked set-piece straight from the training ground. Arsenal star Trossard slotted a second goal to level the scoreline through a header-to-corner delivery to complete the comeback for his side and at least pick points.

Italy National Football Team Player Ratings vs Belgium

Goalkeeper

Gianluigi Donnarumma (5.5/10)

Apart from two saves, the Italian captain was poor in between the goals with conceding two goals.

Defenders

Giovanni Di Lorenzo (6/10)

He won three tackles and made couple of clearances in the three-man defense line.

Alessandro Bastoni (6/10)

He played a vital role in the centre of the defensive backline, though failed to stop Belgium from scoring twice.

Riccardo Calafiori (6/10)

Arsenal sensation earned a start and looked decent in the game specially in ariel duels and passing.

Midfielders

Andrea Cambiaso (7/10)

Scored the opening goal in the first minute and was excellent throughout the game especially in attacks.

Davide Frattesi (6.5/10)

He had three shots in the game while contributing in both attack and defense for his side.

Samuele Ricci (7/10)

In his 70 minute outing, he was phenomenal with his passing and accurate long balls from midfield.

Sandro Tonali (7/10)

Marked his return with solid performance in the midfield providing depth to defense and midfield.

Federico Dimarco (7/10)

He did cause troubles for visitors with his runs on the left and delivering crosses and long balls.

Lorenzo Pellegrini (5/10)

A straight red card sent him back to dressing following a foul, with VAR overturning the original decision wrapped up his outing early in first half.

Forwards

Mateo Retegui (7.5/10)

Netted the second goal of Italy and helped out in the defense as well by dropping deep.

Substitutes

Destiney Udogie (6.5/10)

Nicolog Fagioli (6/10)

Niccolo Pisilli (5.5/10)

Giacomo Raspadori (5/10)

Manager

Luciano Spalletti (6.5/10)

Spalletti managed Italy had a great start with two goals cushion the first half, unfortunately after the red card, the Azzuri boss could not much to compensate the sent-off. Substitutions also did not made much of an impact in keeping their lead safe against Belgium’s aggressive play. They are still on the summit of the Group B table with 7 points in the bag after three games.

Also Read: Namibia vs Zimbabwe Player Ratings: Zimbabwe Claimed Narrow win over Namibia

Belgium National Football Team Player Ratings vs Italy

Goalkeeper

Koen Casteels (6/10)

After conceading two goals in the first half, he bounced back well and made no further mistakes.

Defenders

Zeno Debast (7/10)

Perfectly balanced his attacking and defensive commitments, played 17 passes into the final third.

Wout Faes (7/10)

Demonstrated his tremendous ball-playing ability from the backline and started the buildups for Belgium.

Arthur Theate (7/10)

Another excellent ball playing centre back, maintained 100% rate in duels winning both ground and aeril.

Maxim De Cuyper (7.5/10)

Beautifully structured the ball with routine free-kick set assisted by Leandro Trossard to unleash his stunning shot.

Midfielders

Youri Tielemans (6/10)

Fullfiled his role of captain with his commanding gameplay and provided defensive solidity as pivot in the middle.

Orel Mangala (6/10)

He was solid in defensive action and had managed to take three shots during 68 minutes of outing.

Leandro Trossard (8.5/10)

He was the best player on the pitch assisting for the first goal and netting the equaliers to salvage a point for the team.

Charles De Ketelaere (6/10)

The 23-year-old failed to make any significant impact while operating behind the striker as creative midfielder.

Jérémy Doku (7/10)

His explosive and outbursting runs and dribbling did create serious problems for Italian defence but could not score.

Forwards

Lois Openda (5.5/10)

A performance not up to his standard with only single chances creation he failed to impress with his performance.

Substitutes

Timothy Castagne (6/10)

Aster Vranckx (6/10)

Dodi Lukebakio (6/10)

Manager

 Domenico Tedesco (7.5/10)

Tedesco hasn’t had deseried results in the Nations League campaign so far and in this game, after going down to two goal he inspired his team to go all out in the latter half having one man advantage on their side. Subsequenlty, the visitors rescued a single point after netting two goals against the hosts.

Also Read: Australia vs China Player Ratings: The Socceroos’ Comeback Delivers a Heavy Blow to China

FAQs