Soccer Football - Nations League - Group Stage - Belgium v Italy - King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium - November 14, 2024 Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alessandro Buongiorno in action with Belgium's Romelu Lukaku REUTERS/Yves Herman
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Sandro Tonali tapped in an early goal to hand Italy a 1-0 away win over Belgium in the Nations League on Thursday that consolidated their top place in Group A2.
Tonali scored his first goal for Italy and could have had another in an impressive performance on the road at the King Baudouin Stadium although Belgium gave as good as they got in a fast-paced game.
Tonali took full advantage of Giovanni di Lorenzo’s pass after a slip by Belgian defender Maxim De Cuyper in the 11th minute to give Italy an early advantage they never relinquished despite a strong finish by the hosts.
The result moved Italy up to 13 points in the standings, with Belgium out of the running for a quarter-final berth in March.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
