On Sunday afternoon, Italy beat the Netherlands in Enschede to clinch third place in the UEFA Nations League. Federico Dimarco broke the deadlock for the Azzurri early on and Davide Frattesi added the second.
After the break, the Dutch pulled one back through Steven Bergwijn, but Federico Chiesa came off the bench to restore Italy’s two-goal lead. The Juventus winger stormed into the box, escaped his marker Virgil van Dijk and put his shot past the goalkeeper.
Although Georginio Wijnaldum managed to grab a late goal, the Italians held on to their lead to secure a 3-2 win.
For his part, Chiesa expressed his delight after scoring his first goal for Italy after two years.
“Today I’m very happy for scoring a goal and also for the win,” said the former Fiorentina in his post-match interview with Sky Sport via TuttoJuve.
“Maybe we deserved a bit more but we fought hard to win this match and we did it in the best possible manner.”
The 25-year-old is gradually regaining his status as a pillar for his club and country after returning from a long injury layoff.
“I’m happy with the way I finished my campaign. It was a difficult year for me. Now I’m only thinking about the holidays, then from next season, I’ll begin my preparations starting from the summer training camp.”
Despite the recent chastising, the winger insists that the Italian national team boasts a host of talented players.
“We’re ready, we’ve proven it over the years. There’s talent in Italy, it just needs to be exploited.
“Over the years, [Italy coach Roberto] Mancini has had the courage to call up many players. For instance, Zaniolo was called up when he hadn’t even made his Serie A debut.”
