Three days on from their draw with Bulgaria, the National Team were also held to a 0-0 draw by Switzerland, thus dropping another two points in World Cup qualifying. A four-point gap between Italy and the Swiss therefore remains, although the latter have two games in hand. While Bulgarian goalkeeper Georgiev was the Man of the Match in Florence on Thursday, Yann Sommer was the star performer this evening, with the Swiss shot-stopper managing to save everything that came his way, including a penalty from a specialist in Jorginho. The Azzurri will no doubt be feeling regretful, also because they aren’t celebrating going 36 games unbeaten – a new world record – with a win. For the fourth time in the Mancini era, Italy failed to get on the scoresheet. This is perhaps surprising given how they swept away Switzerland at the European Championship, although the Swiss did come very close to making it to the semi-finals of the tournament. Tonight’s result means that the battle to finish first and secure direct qualification for the World Cup in Qatar is likely to go all the way, with the showdown between the sides on 12 November in Rome set to be decisive. With this in mind, Italy know that they can’t afford to get it wrong against Lithuania on Wednesday.

THE MATCH. Chiellini returned to the side this evening, while Di Lorenzo and Locatelli were also selected as starters. There was also a new face in Italy’s attacking trident, with Berardi replacing Chiesa on the right – as was seen during the opening matches of the Euros. Aside from Emerson being on the pitch instead of the injured Spinazzola, it was the same eleven that started against the Swiss two and a half months ago. Switzerland, meanwhile, had five new players in their side compared to that match at the Olimpico: having lost captain Xhaka due to Covid and Freuler through suspension, new Swiss Head Coach Yakin also had to make do without Embolo, Mbabu and Shaqiri. Frei was chosen in a deep-lying midfield role as part of a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Steffen, Aebischer, Sow and Zuber playing behind Seferovic.

“We’ll need to run,” warned Mancini before the game. And the game began at a high tempo, with the two sides pressing high. In the 14th minute, Berardi made inroads down the right flank before picking out Immobile, who fired well off target. Five minutes later, Berardi had a huge chance to give Italy the lead: the Azzurri countered from a Swiss corner, Locatelli sent his former Sassuolo teammate through on goal, but Sommer won the one-on-one battle. The Swiss goalkeeper also did well to beat Immobile to the ball following Barella’s ball towards the centre with 26 minutes on the clock. Then, Di Lorenzo gave away possession at the back, with Chiellini making sure that Seferovic was unable to take full advantage. On the half-hour, Insigne shot just wide with a trademark curler, while he also tested Sommer with a free kick on the stroke of half-time. Previously, there was a bit of a scare for Italy when Akanji headed narrowly over from Frei’s set-piece.

The second half started with a defensive mistake from Rodriguez, who gave the ball away to Immobile and, in a desperate attempt to make up for it, brought down Berardi in the area. Jorginho stepped up to take it, but Sommer guessed the right way to keep out the midfielder’s weak spot-kick. It was Jorginho’s second consecutive penalty miss in an Italy shirt, although the one he failed to convert in the Euro final at Wembley ultimately didn’t matter. Mancini decided to shake things up, replacing Berardi and Immobile with Chiesa and Zaniolo. The latter thus made his first Italy appearance since picking up a serious injury against the Netherlands a year ago. After taking to the pitch, he alternated with Insigne as Italy’s false 9. In the 70th minute, the Napoli man controlled a pass from Locatelli and let fly, but Sommer was once again there to keep the Azzurri at bay. Verrarri then came on for Locatelli.

Italy kept pushing forward: Zaniolo’s first touch sent Akanji to the ground, but he slipped at the vital moment. In the 83rd minute, the same player sent in an in-swinging corner that Sommer was forced to push away. The Azzurri knew that a victory would be vital but a defeat really would be a blow to their chances of achieving direct qualification. It was only right to go for it, but they didn’t want to overdo things and lose their balance. Pessina and Raspadori entered the fray just as stoppage time was about to begin, but they also weren’t able to make a difference. In Reggio Emilia on Wednesday, Italy will face a Lithuania side that, having lost to Bulgaria, have now suffered four defeats from four and are bottom of the group. Three points are a must in the race to qualify directly for Qatar 2022.

Schedule (all times CEST)

Tuesday 7 September
16:45 – ITALY press conference at the 'Città del Tricolore' stadium
17:15 – ITALY training at the 'Città del Tricolore' stadium (open to the press the first 15')
18:15 – Lithuania press conference at 'Città del Tricolore' stadium
18:45 - Lithuania training at 'Città del Tricolore' stadium (open to the press the first 15')

Wednesday 8 September

20:45 – ITALY vs. Lithuania (Città del Tricolore Stadium). At the end of the match, press conference, disbandment of the delegation and return of players and staff to their respective headquarters

INFO: How to access the Coverciano Federal Technical Centre (CTF) and the stadiums

Media access is not allowed to the training sessions at Coverciano. The images of the first 15 minutes will be produced and distributed by the FIGC (with technical costs borne by the applicant, info: m.reale@figc.it) live to the holder of the audio-visual rights and at the end of the session to the other applicants. Access to press conferences is limited to a small number of journalists (no cameramen or photographers are allowed), with compulsory spacing and masks; accredited participants will also be provided with a link to watch the conferences remotely (Zoom). The images will in any case be produced and distributed live to the holder of the audiovisual rights and at the end of the event to the other applicants (with technical costs borne by the applicant, info: m.reale@figc.it). A selection of training and press conference photos will be made available to the media with a link on the figc.it website. Access to the CTF of Coverciano, as well as to the stadiums of Florence and Reggio Emilia, is allowed only with a green pass or an antigenic swab within the last 48 hours.