Poland 0-0 Italy: All square in Gdańsk

Italy paid for missed chances as they were held to a goalless draw by Poland.

Match in brief

Federico Chiesa missed a great early chance for Italy, firing over Andrea Belotti's cross from close range, and for all their smart play the final ball was constantly lacking from the visitors.

Still, Poland threatened little at the other end, even with the return of Robert Lewandowski in attack, and the closest they came was a cross-shot by Jakub Moder that forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a smart save at his near post.

Emerson headed wide from Chiesa's cross as the Azzurri pushed, but there was to be no breakthrough as the game ended goalless.

Piotr Kozminski, Poland reporter

A draw looks like a good result for Poland given that the Italians had more chances to score. Indeed, Italy had not lost in their last 17 games and they showed just why in Gdańsk: they impressed with their all-round style of play, but just lacked precision. Poland tried to build their attacks around Lewandowski but this time it did not work out.

Paolo Menicucci, Italy reporter

The tight contest in Gdańsk ended in stalemateGetty Images

Italy had one big opportunity in each half – for Chiesa in the first, for Emerson in the second – but both failed to find the target from very good positions. These chances were scant reward, though, for how much the Azzurri dominated possession in midfield for a great part of the game. They lacked some sharpness in attack and a bit of creativity in midfield, yet still risked almost nothing against one of the most feared strikers in the world, Lewandowski, and prolonged their unbeaten streak.

Reaction

Jerzy Brzęczek, Poland coach: "I can see some good things, like our attitude in defence. If you don't concede against Italy, one of the best teams in the world, you can be satisfied with this part of the game. But up front we lacked of efficiency; we were not able to make the decisive pass in the very last moment."

Łukasz Fabiański, Poland goalkeeper: "We played against one of the best teams in the world and did not concede. For a goalkeeper to have clean sheet, not only against Italy, is always a kind of small bonus. They did not create many clear opportunities – I would call them half-chances – so it was not bad tonight."

Roberto Mancini, Italy coach: "We had some good chances. I think the team played well. The result is not the one we wanted, but I’m happy with the performance of the team. I think we could have scored a couple of goals in the first half."

Marco Verratti, Italy midfielder: "I think we played a good game overall. It was not easy to play our football on this heavy pitch, but I think we could have won the game anyway. We had enough chances to do it. Now we look forward to playing against the Netherlands. We have great chance."

Key stats

• Poland have won just one of their seven matches in the UEFA Nations League (D3 L3).
• Poland have scored one goal or less in four of their seven UEFA Nations League games.
• Poland had failed to keep a clean sheet in their six previous UEFA Nations League fixtures.
• Poland had lost their previous two UEFA Nations League home matches.
• Poland have conceded only eight goals in their last 14 games, keeping eight clean sheets.
• Italy’s three previous away fixtures in the UEFA Nations League had finished 1-0 (W2 L1).
• Italy’s seven UEFA Nations League matches have produced just seven goals (F4 A3).
• Italy are unbeaten in their last 18 games, and before this one had scored in all of their last 14.

Roberto Mancini tries to spur on his Italy playersGetty Images

Line-ups

Poland: Fabiański; Kędziora, Glik, Walukiewicz, Bereszyński; Krychowiak, Moder; Szymański (Grosicki 59), Klich (Milik 70), Jóźwiak (Karbownik 82); Lewandowski (Linetty 82)

Italy: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Acerbi, Emerson; Barella (Locatelli 78), Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa (Kean 70), Belotti (Berardi 83), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Caputo 83)

What's next?

Poland welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday while Italy host the Netherlands.