Ciro Immobile returned to scoring ways with the Azzurri but it wasn’t enough as they suffered a frustrating 2-1 loss to Spain in the Nations League semi-finals.
The Lazio captain made his first appearance for the Italian national team since their painful World Cup qualification play-off loss to North Macedonia in March of last year.
Injuries and squad choices by Roberto Mancini left him on the sidelines for over a year, but he was given a starting spot for the clash with Spain.
The match didn’t start well for the Azzurri, who conceded after just three minutes following a Yeremy Pino opener, but Immobile soon levelled the playing field, comfortably dispatching a penalty in the 11th minute following a handball by Robin Le Normand.
The Biancocelesti talisman struggled to have a major impact on the match after this and was replaced in the 60th minute by Federico Chiesa.
Italy went on to lose the match in the worst way, conceding an 88th minute goal from Joselu to confirm their absence from the Nations League final. Spain will face Croatia in that match, whilst the Azzurri will play the Netherlands in the third-place match.
Whilst it was a difficult night, Immobile will still be pleased to get back on the scoresheet with Italy, netting his first goal for the national team since the 3-0 win over Switzerland in the Euro 2020 group stages.
