Italy’s new strike pairing of Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza hardly shined against Azerbaijan on Friday but are likely to be given another chance to establish themselves in Monday’s Euro 2016 Group H qualifier in Malta.
With Mario Balotelli still settling in at his new club Liverpool and Giuseppe Rossi once again plagued by injury, Conte handed his unlikely front duo a start in the 2-1 win in Palermo.
While neither found the target, both showed glimpses of why Conte had shown faith in them.
Immobile’s strength and movement created space for his team mates, despite opposition who were content to defend in numbers and the former Torino forward looks confident and determined following his close-season move to Germany’s Borussia Dortmund.
Zaza, who plays for Serie A minnows Sassuolo, has the skill-set to deliver moments of unexpected brilliance - and he went close to a memorable goal with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
But the shaven-headed forward missed a clear chance from close range and both he and Immobile lacked decisiveness in the penalty area.
“It is not important that we didn’t score because we play to help the team win games,” said Immobile, who accepted however that “we had chances to kill the game before their equaliser”.
It was left to defender Giorgio Chiellini to score the Azzurri’s goals, either side of an own goal from the Italy centre back, and Conte was quick to point out that while his team had done well to secure the three points, their finishing was wayward.
“I couldn’t really ask for more from the lads, apart from the lack of sharpness in finishing in front of goal,” said the coach, who took over from Cesare Prandelli after Italy’s first-round exit at the World Cup.
It would be no surprise though if the pair start again on Monday although the former Juventus coach does have a couple of interesting options.
Sebastian Giovinco brought Italy’s attack to life after coming on as a second-half substitute and hitting the bar as well as providing the cross for Chiellini’s winning header. But the Juventus forward was quick to praise the contribution of Immobile and Zaza in tiring out the Azerbaijan defence.
Netherlands goalkeeper Tim Krul and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum have withdrawn from the Euro 2016 qualifier in Iceland on Monday after picking up injuries during training, Dutch media reported on Sunday.
Krul, who is the back-up goalkeeper in the Dutch squad, hurt his elbow on Saturday and has been replaced for the trip to Reykjavik by Feyenoord’s Kenneth Vermeer.
Wijnaldum, who has hurt his knee, is not being replaced.
