Italy defeated Israel 4-1 at home in the Nations League on Monday. Two goals from defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo helped Luciano Spalletti’s team put one foot in the quarterfinals. Italy’s easy win over Israel put them atop League A Group Two with ten points, one more than France, who defeated Belgium 2-1 on Monday night, which was in third place. Italy must secure at least one point from their remaining group matches to seal a spot in the next round.

After playing hard for 40 minutes, Italy finally broke the deadlock in the 41st minute with striker Mateo Retegui firing a penalty into the top corner of the net. After the break, Di Lorenzo produced a perfect header for Giacomo Raspadori’s free-kick to score 2-0. Israel made a comeback by scoring a goal in the 66th minute through a brilliant corner kick from Mohammed Abu Fani. Federico Dimarco then set up Davide Frattesi for Italy’s third goal, and Di Lorenzo completed the victory with a low effort from the edge of the box.

For the first time this year, Israel played outside of neutral Hungary. There were snipers on the stadium roof and a strong police presence throughout the city of Udine for the match because of Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas. After more than a year of fighting in Gaza, Udine was on high alert as the game was being played against the backdrop of the continuous violence in the Middle East that has stretched to Lebanon.

Italy had the upper hand as they dominated possession right from the start, but Israel had a fantastic opportunity early on through Oscar Gloukh, who missed the mark with a shot from the edge of the box. Then, Omri Glazer, the visiting goalkeeper, did a good job of blocking Retegui from close range. Shortly afterward, Glazer displayed his abilities once more, stopping Retegui. The striker eventually made it onto the scoresheet, though, as Italy was awarded a penalty for Dor Peretz’s foul on Sandro Tonali just before halftime.

In the 54th minute, Di Lorenzo gave the home team a double lead as he headed in Giacomo Raspadori’s free-kick, and it rebounded in front of the goalkeeper and inside the right post. After a VAR check, Israel scored a goal back against the run of play. However, Italy’s confidence only rose as Frattesi scored a low first-time finish in the 72nd minute to make it 3-1. Di Lorenzo then sealed the victory seven minutes later.

Di Lorenzo has scored five goals for his nation since making his debut for Italy against Lithuania in September 2021, while defense partner Dimarco has scored three. Israel finished last in the group standings without a point after being promoted to the highest division, League A, in the previous edition.

They were good in terms of team attitude in the first half; we surprised them a few times with Di Lorenzo’s ball to Retegui. The spaces were narrow, but the fact that we were in front of the goalkeeper so many times is a sign that the boys played a great game, Spalletti told the media. You can see Spalletti’s hand on this team, and when they play like they did tonight, it becomes really difficult for the opponents, Israel coach Ran Ben Shimon said after the loss.

Italy will next visit Belgium to face Domenico Tedesco’s side on November 15. The Italians will play their final home fixture against France on November 18.

Meanwhile, Germany secured a quarterfinals berth in the Nations League after midfielder Jamie Leweling enjoyed a dream international debut, scoring the lone goal in a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Netherlands in a Group A3 match.