Jorginho’s second half penalty was saved by goalkeeper Yann Sommer; Belgium thrash Czech Republic 3-0 as Romelu Lukaku scored on his 100th appearance.
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Italy created a record after a goalless draw against Switzerland in a 2022 World Cup qualifier match. The Azzuri extending their unbeaten run to 36 matches. In the process, they broke Brazil and Spain’s joint record of r36 unbeaten matches. Roberto Mancini’s side had the chance to win the match in Basel. But Jorginho’s second-half penalty was saved by goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The Azzurri drew 1-1 in their previous match on Thursday. That was their first outing since beating England on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.
Italy’s last loss was in a UEFA Nations League group-stage encounter with eventual champions Portugal in September 2018. Their record consists of 29 wins and 7 draws. The turnaround has been impressive given that they failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which led to Mancini replacing Gian Piero as the manager.
Prior to the start of Euro 2020, Italy wasn’t considered a favorite. They had not won the tournament for over 50 years. The tournament started with a dominant 3-0 win against Turkey. From that point, they comfortably won the remaining two group matches to qualify for the next round.
By the time the group stage ended, Italy was one of the title contenders. The 2-1 victory against pre-tournament favorites Belgium made them the team to beat. And then they overcame Spain and England on spot-kicks to lift the trophy.
Meanwhile, Italy’s run is still short of the overall football record of 51. That has been held by the United States women’s team from 2004 to 2007.
Against Switzerland, Mancini’s side had the chance to take all three points but couldn’t. However, they are comfortably placed on top of Group C with 11 points. Switzerland is behind them 7 points from 3 games.
In Group C’s other match on Sunday, Bulgaria beat Lithuania courtesy of Ivaylo Chochev’s lone goal. Italy will next host Lithuania on Wednesday while Switzerland travels to Northern Ireland.
Romelu Lukaku, on his 100th international appearance, scored an early goal for Belgium against the Czech Republic on Sunday. Hans Vanaken found Lukaku’s run with a brilliant through ball. The Chelsea striker slotted the ball past Tomas Vaclik, within eight minutes of kick-off.
In the 41st minute, Vanaken provided the assist for Eden Hazard to make it 2-0 for Belgium. Substitute Alexis Saelemaekers completed the drubbing with a third in the 65th minute. This time, Lukaku provided the assist for the 22-year-old to score a goal.
The victory consolidated Belgium’s top place in Group E as they moved to 13 points from five games, six points clear of second-placed Czech.
Wales, had earlier in the day staged a comeback to beat Belarus 3-2 courtesy of Gareth Bale’s hat-trick. They are third in Group E with six points from three games.
