Defender Giorgio Chiellini scored three times, including an own goal, as Italy beat Azerbaijan 2-1 in their Euro 2016 Group H qualifier in Palermo on Friday.
It was a struggle at times for Antonio Conte's team against an Azerbaijan side who defended in numbers and showed little ambition to go forward, but in the end they secured the three points thanks to a player who had managed just four goals in his previous 71 internationals.
Italy should have had an early lead when Ciro Immobile broke free in the sixth minute and found Claudio Marchisio in a promising position, but the midfielder blasted his shot high and wide.
Andrea Ranocchia then missed a great chance with an unchallenged header from an Andrea Pirlo free kick but Chiellini finally put Italy in front a minute before the interval.
Again Pirlo was the creator with a corner, which Azerbaijan keeper Kamran Agayev came for but failed to reach and Chiellini powered in a header.
Simone Zaza, partnering Immobile in attack, went close after the break with an acrobatic effort after fine work from Leonardo Bonucci. Zaza should have scored at the near post shortly after, but his effort from a low Matteo Darmian cross was wide.
The Azzurri really should have had the game in the bag, but were shocked in the 76th minute when Chiellini was unable to deal with a Dimitrij Nazarov corner, the ball crossing the line off the centre back's leg.
Chiellini though made amends six minutes later by angling home a near-post header from a fine cross by substitute Sebastian Giovinco to ensure Conte’s team secured a second straight win in the group.
Dutch beat 10-man Kazakhstan with late goals
The Netherlands grabbed two late goals to snatch a 3-1 home victory over 10-man Kazakhstan having trailed until just past the hour mark in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday.
The Dutch took the three points thanks to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ibrahim Afellay and a Robin van Persie penalty, having fallen behind in the 17th minute to Renat Abdulin's diving header from a corner in the Group A match.
The Kazakhs had successfully defended in numbers until the 62nd minute when substitute Huntelaar equalised with a header and they were down to 10 men when striker Baurzhan Dzholchiyev was sent off two minutes later for a foul on Afellay.
Afellay, making his comeback for the national team after an absence of 23 months, put the Netherlands ahead thanks to a 20-metre strike with only eight minutes remaining and Van Persie wrapped up the win by converting a penalty in the 89th.
Iceland and Czech Republic, who both won away on Friday, top the group with six points followed by the Dutch on three, with Kazakhstan and Latvia on one and Turkey bottom without a point.
The Netherlands attacked from the start but after going behind to the early goal it was left to coach Guus Hiddink to change the game with introduction of Huntelaar for defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong in the 55th minute.
The Schalke 04 captain rewarded his manager by heading home a free kick seven minutes after coming off the bench.
“It was nice to see Huntelaar scoring with a beautiful classic header. After the equaliser it was a matter of time until we scored our second goal”, Hiddink said. “You could feel that.”
Olympiakos Piraeus midfielder Afellay, who started as part of a three-man Dutch midfield alongside De Jong and Wesley Sneijder, then beat keeper Aleksandr Mokin before Van Persie was brought down in the area and got up to convert the spot kick.
The Netherlands had lost 2-1 to the Czech Republic in their opener while Kazakhstan, who are ranked 127th in the world by FIFA, earned a goalless draw against Latvia.
In other matches on the day, Norway are lying third in Group H after a 3-0 win in Malta with the goals coming from two players from the English Championship -- Cardiff teenager Mats Moller Daehli and Blackburn Rovers forward Joshua King, who got a double. Israel beat Cyprus 2-1 in Group B's other game in Nicosia.
Iceland recorded a thumping win over 10-man Latvia, winning 3-0 to join the Czechs at the top in Group A.
