Italy passed their first test ahead of the World Cup by beating Serbia at the ‘Francesca Gianni’ venue in Rome. Carmine Nunziata’s side were two goals up at the break and that would be the score at the full-time whistle. The first goal came three minutes in from Monaco forward Nicolò Cudrig who took advantage of a mistake at the back from Serbia which sent him clean through on goal. Italy continued to dominate and follow Nunziata’s instructions as they always looked to play creative and positive football. Before his goal, Sebastiano Esposito went close with a couple of free kicks that went close. His moment came however in the 17th minute. From a Ruggeri throw-in, Esposito was able to let the ball roll before picking out the top right corner.

The second half saw a large number of changes with all ten outfield players coming off as Nunziata looked to rest his players and try different options. There wasn’t too much drama in the second half as Italy secured the 2-0 win.

“This kind of match is required ahead of the World Cup,” said Nunziata following the whistle. “I have to say that the first half was very good. The guys played good football and I think they enjoyed themselves. In the second half, we were a bit confused even if it’s not easy to play the same way when you change the whole team. At this point of the season, the players don’t have 90 minutes in their legs and despite the desire to win games, it’s also right to look after them and avoid any possible injuries.”

The second friendly will be at 14:30 CEST on Monday at the Tre Fontane venue in Rome.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Manuel Gasparini (Udinese), Filippo Rinaldi (Parma);
Defenders: Christian Dalle Mura (Fiorentina), Francesco Lamanna (Juventus), Lorenzo Moretti (Inter), Giorgio Cittadini (Atalanta), Alessandro Pio Riccio (Juventus), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Lorenzo Pirola (Inter), Destiny Udogie Iyenoma (Hellas Verona),
Midfielders: Michael Brentan (Juventus), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Inter), Simone Panada (Atalanta), Niccolò Squizzato (Inter), Franco Tongya Heubang (Juventus), Samuele Giovane (Atalanta), Andrea Capone (Milan), Nikola Sekulov (Juventus), Edoardo Bove (Roma);
Forwards: Alessandro Arlotti (Monaco), Nicolò Cudrig (Monaco), Sebastiano Esposito (Inter).