Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco was impressed by Italy and their ‘fluid football’ after Sandro Tonali’s goal secured a 1-0 Nations League victory in Brussels.
The game was decided early on with the goal at the 11th minute, Tonali practically walking the ball into the net after a well-worked move down the right.
The best opportunity that the Red Devils had to draw level came when Wout Faes flicked a header backwards onto the upright from a set play.
Tedesco saw bright Italy performance
“It’s a pity, because the lads gave their all,” Tedesco told RAI Sport.
“We didn’t have a good start to the match and there was not enough intensity in the opening 20 minutes. Italy play very fluid football, you can see they are in a good period of form and have a lot of confidence.
“Having said that, we still allowed the opening goal far too easily.”
Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Belgium 0-1 Italy
Tedesco was born in Italy and moved with his family to Germany at the age of 3, but still insists that he cheers on the Azzurri when they are not his direct opponents.
The Nazionale needed only one point to be sure of qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals, so Belgium will now finish in third place.
“We were missing a lot of key players, but still had a good second half. In fact, even the first half wasn’t too bad after the opening 20 minutes,” continued Tedesco.
“Italy are in really good shape and when they play like this with lots of one-touch football, it becomes difficult to press them.”
Both Italy and France have qualified for the quarter-finals, but a point on Sunday at San Siro would be enough for the Azzurri to guarantee top spot in the group.
