MX23RW : Tuesday, July 2 04:08:25| >> :600:1950746:1950746:
[monks data]
Attendance: 16,292
Finland national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Sep 8, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Italy national football team

1-2

Pukki (72' pen.)
FT(HT: 0-0)
Immobile (59'), Jorginho (79' pen.)

Ciro Immobile delighted to end Italy drought

Ciro Immobile delighted to end Italy drought
© Reuters
The striker had not scored for his country since 2017.

Italy striker Ciro Immobile was happy to end an international goal drought stretching back more than two years in Sunday's European Championship qualifying win over Finland.

Immobile's header in the 59th minute of the 2-1 win at the Tampere Stadium was his first for the Azzurri since September 5, 2017.

Although Teemu Pukki equalised for the home side, Jorginho's penalty won it for Italy to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group J and move them closer to qualification for next summer's tournament.

Lazio striker Immobile said afterwards: "I've got rid of something that was hanging around my neck.

"I really wanted to score. I'm getting my confidence back by scoring and I'm happy with this."

Italy boss Roberto Mancini acknowledged things did not run smoothly as he admitted to the Azzurri's official Twitter feed: "We created problems for ourselves.

"Then, we took control of things again and all of the guys did well.

"Having more players to choose from can only be a positive. This group is improving.

"Our philosophy is to attack, you'll give something up at the back when you do that – but the defence is up to it."

Mancini is already looking forward to qualification, with four group matches remaining and his team nine points clear of third-placed Armenia.

Next up is a home match against Greece on October 12, with a trip to Liechtenstein following three days later.

The former Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter Milan boss added: "The next match could secure qualification for Euro 2020. I want to feel the passion from the fans."

ID:370824: cacheID:370824:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2987:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Finland boss Markku Kanerva pictured on June 11, 2019
Read Next:
Finland boss Markku Kanerva proud of side's "fight and determination"
>
Read more about Ciro Immobile Football
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 2
 
8pm
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!