Italy Earn Uninspired 1-0 Win vs. Israel in World Cup 2018 Qualifying

Italy bounced back from their recent drubbing by Spain with a 1-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Israel at the Mapei Stadium on Tuesday, although the performance was not the most convincing.

A frustrating opening 45 minutes for the Azzurri saw them control possession but create few genuine chances, while Israel occasionally threatened on the break. 

In an improved second-half performance from the hosts, Ciro Immobile broke the deadlock with a fine header soon after the break for what proved to be the only goal of the game. 

The win moves Italy closer to securing a play-off place in qualification for next year's Russia tournament, while they retain slim hopes of an automatic berth. 

Italy manager Gian Piero Ventura opted to deploy the same 4-2-4 formation that was ruthlessly exposed in the 3-0 defeat to Spain:

The hosts almost made the perfect start as Andrea Belotti was presented with a scoring opportunity inside 40 seconds.

Matteo Darmian fed the Torino striker in space on the edge of the box after a fine move down the left, but Belotti could only drag his effort wide when he should at least have hit the target.

Half-chances followed for Italy in the opening half but the best opportunities of the first 45 minutes actually fell to Israel.

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Almog Cohen was the visitors' greatest threat. He forced a smart save from Gianluigi Buffon soon before half-time and then drove the ball into the back of the net from an offside position moments later.

Italy showed much greater intent from the start of the second half and a perfectly lofted ball from the right by Antonio Candreva was emphatically headed home from five yards at the far post by Immobile in the 53rd minute.

Further excellent attempts came from Belotti and Candreva, the former a bullet header and latter a low shot, but both were brilliantly kept out by Israel goalkeeper Ariel Harush.

It meant there was always the danger Italy could be pegged back and drop more points, and Tal Ben Chaim went close with a couple of decent efforts late on.

In truth, it would have been harsh on Italy to not gain all three points, but the unconvincing nature of the victory highlights an ongoing need for the Azzurri to be more clinical.