Two finishes from Ciro Immobile saw Italy battle back to claim all three points against Macedonia in an entertaining encounter at the Philip II Arena.
Italy took a deserved lead in the contest thanks to a terrific volleyed finish from Andrea Belotti in the first half, with the striker getting his first international goal.
However, Macedonia surprised their visitors in the second period by scoring twice in two minutes, with goals coming from Ilija Nestorovski and Ferhan Hasani twelve and fourteen minutes after the restart following midfield mistakes from Italy.
It appeared the Italians were in line for a shock defeat to the team currently ranked 103 in the international world rankings but Immobile flicked home an instinct finish to level the match on 75 minutes.
It seemed a win wasn’t going to happen when Marco Parolo was wrongly given offside towards the climax of the match as his headed effort found the net, but Immobile would strike again to secure a victory.
The Lazio striker popped up with a header from close range to continue his side’s unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying, although Giampiero Ventura will feel fortunate for all three points.
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