How Italy beat Netherlands 3-2 in Nations League third-place match thanks to Chiesa’s goal – The Athletic

Italy have beaten the Netherlands 3-2 in the Nations League third-place play-off, with Federico Chiesa scoring what was ultimately the decisive goal.

Roberto Mancini’s side took the lead after just six minutes through Federico Dimarco, and Davide Frattesi doubled the lead with his first international goal shortly after.

Despite the Dutch dominating possession, they struggled to create shooting opportunities until Steven Bergwijn pulled a goal back midway through the second half.

Chiesa’s goal in the 72nd minute reasserted Italian control over the scoreline, but the Dutch continued to fight. Wout Weghorst had a goal disallowed before Georginio Wijnaldum cut the deficit to one in the 89th minute. Italy held on for the win though, securing successive Nations League bronze medals.

Wijnaldum: ‘We have a lot to learn’

AS Roma loanee from Paris Saint-Germain and goalscorer of the Dutch second goal spoke to UEFA.com at full time.

“I was really disappointed in the way we played in the first half – compared to the game against Croatia, where we played a good first half. So we spoke about today as a big opportunity for us to learn and get better, but in the first half we didn’t show that.”

“In the second half, we were more aggressive, and we had the will to do more on the pitch and win our one-on-one battles. So the plan we were playing was the same, but we did it with more intensity and we pushed harder to get a result.”

“I think this shows that we have to learn a lot more… if you want to win things, then you cannot play like we did in the first half.”