World Cup qualifying: Sandro Tonali scores late as Italy beat Israel in thriller

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DEBRECEN: Sandro Tonali scored late in the stoppage time as Italy prevailed in a thrilling 5-4 contest to beat Israel in their World Cup qualifier in Hungary. The Italians put the ball twice into their own net, made a comeback twice, but bagged a win to stay in the hunt in Group I. Italy had started brilliantly under new coach Gennaro Gattuso as they defeated Estonia 5-0 in his first match at home on Friday, and again added three points on a neutral venue away to Israel.

Israel claimed a lead in the 16th minute when Eli Dasa set up Dan Biton, whose cut back from the byline was mistakenly directed into his own goal by Manuel Locatelli. Italy equalised the game 1-1 in the 40th minute through Moise Kean when he was provided a pass by Mateo Retegui. Israel took the lead again in the 52nd minute when Manor Solomon provided a perfect assist to Dor Peretz, who smashed it beyond the reach of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

But Israel’s lead did not last long as Kean levelled the game again, scoring a stunner two minutes later on Retegui’s decisive pass from the edge of the area. Kean talked about his bonding with Retegui, saying We are slowly beginning to understand each other.

“I get on well with Retegui,” Kean said. “We’re slowly beginning to understand each other and there’s an understanding between us.” Retegui once again provided a mind-blowing pass when Matteo Politano put Italy ahead for the first time in the 58th minute. With the fourth goal in the net by substitute Giacomo Raspadori with nine minutes remaining, it looked like Italy had sealed the deal before Alessandro Bastoni’s own goal in the 87th minute spoiled the party.

Peretz then headed his second past Donnarumma from close range in the 89th to make it 4-4 as Israel thought they had managed a draw in a nail-biting contest, but the drama was not over yet. The game was decided in the added time when Tonali tried his luck from outside the box, which flew past the keeper. Kean reflected on the victory, saying that believing until the end is the beauty of football. “Believing until the end is the beauty of football. Tonight we succeeded and we brought home the result,” Kean added. “We believe in qualification. We’re a very good team and we have an excellent coach. We can do a lot.”