Italy continue good form with victory over winless Israel in Budapest

Italy extended their unbeaten streak against Israel to six matches (W5, D1) following a 2-1 victory at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest. With only one loss in their last 13 UEFA Nations League group-stage matches (W7, D5), Italy was expected to pose an early threat in the Hungarian capital.

Federico Dimarco, fresh off his remarkable goal against France, came close to scoring again shortly after the 15-minute mark, but his attempt sailed just over the crossbar of Yoav Gerafi.

As VAR intervened to dismiss Italy's penalty claims, Raoul Bellanova squandered a prime opportunity to give the Azzurri the lead, misfiring his shot at the back post despite being in a favorable position to score.

However, Italy's relentless attacking pressure bore fruit in the 38th minute when Davide Frattesi skillfully redirected Dimarco’s well-placed first-time cross past Gerafi.

After a frustrating first half in which Israel failed to register a shot on target, manager Ran Ben Shimon made significant changes at halftime, bringing on Mahmoud Jaber and Oscar Gloukh.

Yet it was Frattesi who nearly increased his and Italy’s score in the 52nd minute, only to be thwarted by a brilliant save from Gerafi.

Nevertheless, Gerafi could do nothing to stop Moise Kean from scoring shortly after the hour mark, as he calmly converted the rebound from Giacomo Raspadori’s initial shot, which had been inadvertently deflected into his path by the Israeli goalkeeper.

The offside flag prevented Italy from securing a third goal, as Sandro Tonali's attempt was disallowed for offside. Nevertheless, this decision did not influence the final result of the match, even though substitute Mohammad Abu Fani scored a beautifully executed half-volley in the 90th minute, providing Israel with a consolation goal.

With this latest head-to-head victory, Italy moves closer to finishing at the top of their Nations League group for the third consecutive time. In contrast, Israel continues to seek their inaugural win at the highest level of this competition, as UEFA's current international tournament is set to take a brief winter hiatus until mid-October.