Netherlands 2-3 Italy: Player ratings as Azzurri clinch third place in Nations League
Italy exploited some lousy defending from the Netherlands to run out 3-2 winners and clinch third place in the Nations League Finals on Sunday afternoon.
Federico Dimarco cannoned Italy into an early lead before Davide Frattesi pounced on a deflected shot to finish and double the Azzurri's lead with the Dutch at sixes and sevens at the back.
Steven Bergwijn struck to bring Ronald Koeman's side back into the game before Federico Chiesa raced up to the other end and finished low into the bottom corner. Georginio Wijnaldum scored the Netherlands' second but it wasn't enough to drag his side level.
The Oranje's porous defence under Ronald Koeman made another inauspicious start as Dimarco fired Italy into an under lead.
Mateo Retegui missed the ball with an attempted scissor kick but that allowed Giacomo Raspadori to subtly flick it back to the Inter full back, whose lashed shot whistled past the diving Denzel Dumfries and goalkeeper Justin Bijlow.
The Dutch struggled in possession as Italy intercepted and made dominant tackles. Virgil van Dijk's header from a corner prompted cheap handball appeals to no avail shortly before his side went 2-0 down. Again, it was a goal aided by poor defending.
The marauding Dimarco charged into space and found Raspadori on the edge of the box. The forward was closed down by Mats Wieffer before Wilfried Gnonto's mishit bounced kindly for Frattesi, who was played onside by the deep Lutsharel Geertruida and finished clinically past Bijlow for his first Azzurri goal.
The Netherlands started to enjoy more sustained periods of pressure after going two goals down. Xavi Simons intercepted and played in Cody Gakpo, but the Liverpool forward saw his skewed effort drift just wide.
Jeers greeted Koeman's side at the half-time whistle at De Grolsch Veste in Enschede with supporters unhappy with the meek defensive effort after a similarly dismal effort in extra time to Croatia.
Italy's defence had held firm as a compact and organised unit but the Dutch began to probe more menacingly at the start of the second half.
A lobbed Van Dijk pass found Gakpo, who managed to drift in front of Francesco Acerbi but saw his half-volley squashed by the onrushing Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Dutch gave themselves a lifeline with little over 20 minutes to play thanks to substitute Bergwijn. The Ajax forward was picked out by Gakpo and sat down Dimarco to half the deficit with a powerful strike.
Italy's two-goal lead was reestablished in four minutes, however. Dimarco picked possession off Dumfries before Frattesi sent Federico Chiesa scampering down the left. The Juventus forward squared up with Van Dijk and whipped a left-footed shot low across the box and in off the far corner.
Roberto Mancini's side were given a late scare when Wout Weghorst tried to repeat the free kick routine the Dutch used to score against Argentina at the World Cup, but the Manchester United loanee was clearly in an offside position.
The Dutch did pull another goal back, this time through Georginio Wijnaldum. A low pass from Joey Veerman was picked up in the box by the former Liverpool midfielder and he kept his composure to lift his shot over Donnarumma.
Attention now turns to Sunday evening's Nations League final which will see Spain take on Croatia.
Netherlands player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Justin Bijlow - 4/10 - Didn't command his box very well and was powerless against some of the finishes.
RB: Denzel Dumfries - 5/10 - Caught very high up the pitch when Italy countered. Few shots that didn't trouble Donnarumma.
CB: Lutsharel Geertruida - 2/10 - Should have jogged back up to meet his defensive line but ended up playing Frattesi onside for the second goal. Subbed off at halt time.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - 4/10 - Some nice long balls forward but couldn't organise his erratic teammates and didn't do enough to stop Chiesa from netting Italy's third.
LB: Nathan Ake - 6/10 - Showed for the ball often as one of the Netherlands' better passers on the day. Was clever in dealing with Gnonto's pace.
CM: Mats Wieffer - 5/10 - Some good grafting but not a massive influence in the Dutch midfield.
CM: Frenkie de Jong - 6/10 - A few twirls caught the eye but was rushed in possession by some good Italian pressing.
CM: Xavi Simons - 5/10 - Buzzed around and had some nice moments on the half-turn, poking a few passes through for Gakpo to chase.
RW: Donyell Malen - 4/10 - Part of a rather ineffective forward line in the first half that failed to test the Italian backline. Off at half time.
ST: Cody Gakpo - 6/10 - Quiet first half though chances started to mount up before the hour mark. Definitely brighter in the second half and should have taken one of thoise opportunities.
LW: Noa Lang - 4/10 - Very minimal impact, aside from some nice dribbling towards the end of the first half.
Substitutes
Wout Weghorst (46' for Lang) - 5/10 - Came on and threw hit wait around, scoring a goal that was chalked off for offside. Gave some verbals in a losing effort.
Georginio Wijnaldum (46' for Geertruida) - 7/10 - Arrived nicely into the box to convert late on but couldn't drag his side level.
Steven Bergwijn (46' for Malen) - 7/10 - Some great driving runs added some spark to the Dutch forward line and took his goal smartly.
Teun Koopmeiners (63' for Simons) - 5/10 - Dropped from the starting XI and didn't make much of an impact from the bench.
Joey Veerman (76' for Wieffer) - 7/10 - Lovely pass was well controlled and finished off by Wijnaldum.
Subs not used: Marten de Roon, Daley Blind, Jurrien Timber, Sven Botman, Tyrell Malacia, Andries Noppert, Mark Flekken.
Manager
Ronald Koeman - 4/10 - His side were again horrendously messy in defence and recent history suggests that is a problem that won't be fixed any time soon.
Italy player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7/10 - Made himself big in important scenarios with a few vital saves. Commanded his box well and claimed the ball often.
RB: Rafael Toloi - 6/10 - A little more reserved on the right compared to the adventurous Dimarco but was solid enough.
CB: Francesco Acerbi - 7/10 - Had another good outing, making the right judgement call each time the Netherlands tried to break forward.
CB: Alessandro Buongiorno - 7/10 - Didn't make any rash challenges alongside the more aggressive Acerbi.
LB: Federico Dimarco - 8/10 - Finished brilliantly early on to put Italy on top. Booked later on as part of a fiery display and looked dangerous whenever he went forward, albeit being afforded a lot of space by the Dutch.
CM: Davide Frattesi - 8/10 - Got into the box and finished well for his first national team goal to put Italy in command before sending Chiesa on his way with an assist in the second half.
CM: Bryan Cristante - 6/10 - A bit sloppier on the ball compared to Frattesi and Verratti.
CM: Marco Verratti - 7/10 - Definitely toed the line tightly with some rash challenges but somehow came through without a yellow card.
RW: Wilfried Gnonto - 6/10 - Mishit shot bounced its way to Frattesi. Probably didn't get as many chances to stretch his legs as he might have wanted.
ST: Mateo Retegui - 6/10 - Sent a few snapshots into the crowd, but his missed attempt of a scissor kick did lead to Italy's first goal.
LW: Giacomo Raspadori - 7/10 - Involved in Italy's more fast-moving counters and displayed a nice weight of pass.
Substitutes
Federico Chiesa (63' for Raspadori) - 7/10 - Showed good pace on the counter and wasn't intimidated by Van Dijk to score Italy's third.
Nicolo Zaniolo (64' for Gnonto) - 5/10
Leonardo Spinazzola (74' for Dimarco) - 6/10
Lorenzo Pellegrini (85' for Retegui) - N/A
Nicolo Barella (85' for Verratti) - N/A
Subs not used: Ciro Immobile, Jorginho, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Matteo Darmian, Alex Meret, Guglielmo Vicario.
Manager
Roberto Mancini - 7/10 - Saw his side pick the Netherlands apart in the first half, though how the Dutch came back into the game would have displeased Mancini.