Malta, ranked 167th in FIFA, showed extraordinary fighting spirit against defending champions Italy, ranked 8th in the world.
Only five minutes into the match, the Maltese midfielder played a clever pass to Satariano, who quickly stepped forward and fired a shot into the penalty area, which Donnarumma bravely saved, but could not prevent the ball from skimming the crossbar.
Immediately after, in the 14th minute, Romagnoli took a long shot from outside the penalty area, which the goalkeeper quickly parried off the line. In the 15th minute, Italy took an 11-minute lead over Luxembourg when Tonali headed in a corner kick from the left side.
In the 21st minute, Nyunto was replaced by Griffo due to injury. In the 27th minute, Emerson played a clever cross from the left side of the box and Pessina scored easily in front of the goal to extend Italy's lead with 22 minutes to go.
In the 29th minute, Di Lorenzo crossed from the right side of the box and Griever's follow-up shot from the middle of the field was blocked by a Maltese player, and VAR ruled it a no-goal. In the 69th minute, Scaramacca's reverse shot was parried by the keeper and Scarveni added a shot over the bar.
In stoppage time, Scamacca shot over the bar after a succession of breakaways in the box. In the end, goals from Retegui and Pesina helped Italy to a 2-0 away win over Malta for their first win in a European qualifier.
At the end of the tournament, Italy are second in Group C with 3 points from 2 wins and 1 loss, England are top of the table with 6 points, North Macedonia are third with 3 points, Ukraine are fourth with 0 points and Malta are at the bottom with 0 points. With Macedonia and Ukraine completing only one round of matches, Italy will need to continue to work hard to ensure their advancement.
23-year-old center forward Matteo Retegui, a naturalized Argentine player, has shined in the Argentine league. On his debut for the Italian national team in the Euro qualifiers, he made two consecutive starts and scored. According to the latest reports, Inter Milan are interested in bringing in Rettger for a possible €25 million as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku. Boca Juniors, for their part, may face stiff competition from AC Milan and Roma.
