“Italy could have scored a lot more goals” after the 4-1 win

Luciano Spalletti says Italy “could have scored a lot more goals” in their 4-1 win over Israel and warns qualification for the Nations League is not yet certain.

The Azzurri made the game relatively easy at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo scoring twice, Mateo Retegui converting a penalty and Davide Frattesi confirming his status as Spalletti's top goalscorer.

“I think we had attempts but didn't finish the chances we created. “It's not easy to play one-on-one with your opponents so often, especially when they defend so deeply,” Spalletti told RAI Sport.

Daniel Maldini and fellow substitute Destiny Udogie worked together to set up the final goal, while Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca also made his senior debut.

“Those who came on performed well, we could have scored a lot more goals, but that's okay. There were a few mistakes that caused a few problems, but otherwise we achieved good results with the preventative cover and hardly took any risks,” the coach added.

Spalletti is not concerned about defending Italy

Italy now have three wins and one draw in the Nations League, but have conceded one goal in their last seven games in a row. Is this a cause for concern?

“We know that you would like to win games 10-0, but there are also opponents and we have to deal with them too,” shrugged Spalletti.

France beat Belgium 2-1 away, even after Aurelien Tchaoumeni was sent off and Youri Tielemans missed a penalty.

This means Italy remains at the top with 10 points, followed by France with 9, Belgium with 4 and Israel with 0, effectively qualifying them as one of the top two for the quarter-finals.

“There are two very difficult games coming up. If Belgium wins both games they will be at the top, so we have to get a result.”