Italy reach Nations League finals by beating Bosnia 2-0

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nov. 20 (AP/ PTI): Italy advanced to the Nations League Final Four by beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday.

Andrea Belotti and Domenico Berardi scored in a game that Italy dominated to ensure it finished top of Group 1 and earned the right to host the Nations League finals in October.

Federico Bernardeschi also hit the crossbar late on with one of Italy’s numerous chances.

Italy will be joined in the tournament finals by France, Belgium and Spain.

“It will be nice to measure ourselves up because we’re talking about the strongest teams in Europe so we can’t wait to compare ourselves to them to see our level, how far we’ve come,” assistant coach Alberico Evani said.

Evani filled in for head coach Roberto Mancini, who is self-isolating after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Italy finished a point ahead of the Netherlands, which scored two late goals to win 2-1 in Poland.

Bosnia was already mathematically relegated to League B.

Italy was beset with problems coming into the match. Standout forward Ciro Immobile was also still out with the coronavirus and the Azzurri were without more than 20 other players due to club quarantines and injuries.