There were a few nervous gasps from the away fans who had travelled to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara Arena when Germany went behind to Lorenzo Pellegrini’s 70th-minute strike. However, Joshua Kimmich’s calm and collected equalizer three minutes later was enough to earn a 1-1 draw with Italy in their UEFA Nations League opener on Saturday. It also ensured that Die Mannschaft remained unbeaten under new manager Hansi Flick.
It has been a woeful few months for Italian football. Their 37-match winning streak, which peaked with their Euro 2020 win last July, was a beacon that the Italian national team was on the road to resurgence. However, they failed to capitalize on that momentum and missed out on World Cup qualification for the second time in a row.
Italy were knocked out of the playoffs by North Macedonia of all teams. To add insult to injury, they were also humbled by Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the recent La Finalissima, a trophy contested between the European and South American champions.
Despite those disappointments, Roberto Mancini named an experimental XI for the clash in Bologna, which gave Germany a strong test all over the park. AS Roma captain Pellegrini put the hosts ahead with 20 minutes remaining in the contest.
However, just as Italy were licking their fingers at the thought of registering their second win in the last six matches, Flick’s side responded almost immediately. Kimmich found the back of the net to earn his side an important point.
The draw means that Germany have won eight and drawn two of their matches since Flick took over from Joachim Low after last summer’s Euros.
Elsewhere, England suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai coolly converted from the spot. Reece James, who had come off from the bench just two minutes before, was guilty of the infringement in the penalty box.
This is the first time in 60 years that England have suffered a loss against Hungary. Notably, the scoreline could have been much worse had Andreas Schafer converted his late chance.
