Van de Beek off the mark as Netherlands and Italy share points

Donny van de Beek scored his first Netherlands goal in a 1-1 draw with Italy that saw both teams lose ground to Poland in Nations League Group A1.

Lorenzo Pellegrini polished off a lovely move following a terrific Nico Barella pass to put Italy in front in Bergamo after just 16 minutes on Wednesday, before Manchester United midfielder Van de Beek opened his international account in his 14th cap. Memphis Depay's shot was blocked by the Man Utd man who then fired home into the corner after 25 minutes. 

Cillessen's double save to deny Spinazzola and D'Ambrossio was the closest anyone came to adding to the scoring in the first period, but the Dutch equaliser certainly lifted Frank de Boer's men. It was all square going into the interval though. 

 

October 14, 2020

Neither side was unable to find a winner in the second half, with Roberto Mancini's men extending their unbeaten run to 19 games – 16 in competitive matches – and denying Frank de Boer a first victory in charge of the Netherlands. The match was not short of chances though. 

Ciro Immobile should have scored in the 57th minute when he was one on one with Cillessen, but he hit the ball straight at the goalie. That came just seconds after Memphis Depay was denied by a fine save by Donnarumma in the Italian goal. A draw was certainly a fair result over the 90 minutes. 

Poland now sit in pole position to advance to the Nations League Finals following a 3-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, piling the pressure on Italy and the Netherlands. Poland are on seven points, Italy on six, Netherlands on five and Bosnia on two.