Friendly Match: Italy Defeats Ecuador 2-0
In a friendly match, Italy hosted Ecuador. In the first half, Di Marco's free-kick was blocked, but Pellegrini scored with a long shot. In the second half, Prata's long-range shot was saved by Vincario, Estupiñán's close-range shot missed the target, and Barella scored in injury time with a chip shot. In the end, Italy won 2-0 against Ecuador.
The Azzurri once more experimented with the 3-4-2-1 formation, fielding an entirely new starting XI from the team that secured a 2-1 victory over Venezuela on Thursday. This lineup saw debuts for Guglielmo Vicario and Raoul Bellanova. A moment of silence was observed at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey to honor Fiorentina director Joe Barone.
Vicario registered his first save for Italy in the 68th minute, denying Plata's powerful strike from outside the box, followed by Estupinan's near miss as his follow-up effort curled narrowly wide of the far post.As fatigue set in for the Nazionale, Ecuador seized the opportunity to mount pressure with a series of corners, but failed to pose a real threat.
In a turn of events, Italy doubled their lead on the counter-attack during stoppage time. Riccardo Orsolini's clever nutmeg pass set Barella free, and as the captain advanced, he calmly waited for the goalkeeper to commit before delicately chipping the ball over him.
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