(Football news) Italy clinched a place in the Nations League final four with a dramatic 2-0 win away to Hungary thanks to goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Federico Dimarco in their last League A-Group 3 game. European champions Italy, who surprisingly missed out on a place at the World Cup this year but subsequently finished on top of the group with 11 points from six games, which was one point above second-placed Hungary who needed to avoid defeat to secure a place in their first Nations League semi-finals next year.

Italy opened the scoring when Raspadori took advantage of a mistake by the defence in the 27th minute to convert a rebound from the edge of the box. Hungary on the other hand had a great chance to equalise just but Gianluigi Donnarumma kept out a flurry of shots by Loic Nego, Callum Styles and captain Adam Szalai, who retired from international football after the match. The final nail in the coffin was dealt by Inter left back Dimarco who made it 2-0 for the visitors in the 52nd minute when he blasted the ball into the goal from close range. Italy joins Croatia and the Netherlands in next year's finals tournament, while Spain and Portugal will play today for the last spot available.

"We were excellent for 70 minutes. The last 20 I didn't like too much," Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. "It's important to have reached the Nations League final four for the second time, but the previous results unfortunately remain. Let's say that we were good at restarting and setting up a group that has values on which you can work. The goal? It's bypassing the month of December," he added, with his team sidelined for the World Cup which runs from Nov. 20-Dec. 18.

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