Italy 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Frattesi hands Azzurri victory in final pre-Euros friendly

Italy rounded off their Euro 2024 preparations with a 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Empoli, with Davide Frattesi’s wonderful volley proving the difference.

Frattesi met Federico Chiesa’s left-wing cross with a brilliant side-footed finish while off the ground 38 minutes in, giving Kenan Piric no chance as the ball sailed into the top-left corner.

Luciano Spalletti’s team had earlier been indebted to Gianluigi Donnarumma as he denied Haris Hajradinovic, and the Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper made another excellent one-on-one save to keep Anel Ahmedhodzic out in the closing stages.

Spalletti will have been relieved to see a strong Italy team avoid injuries after losing defenders Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini in recent weeks, ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Albania next Saturday.

5 – Since his debut with Italy (4th June 2022) Davide Frattesi has scored the most goals for the Azzurri : 5 goals in 15 matches. Insertion.#ItaliaBosnia pic.twitter.com/zCCDoGbsO9

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) June 9, 2024

Data Debrief: Frattesi makes his mark

There are plenty of new faces in Italy’s squad for the Euros, with midfielders Matteo Verratti and Manuel Locatelli both left out after helping the Azzurri triumph at Euro 2020. Frattesi has assumed a key role in their absence.

Since making his international debut in June 2022, Frattesi has scored five goals in 15 games for Italy, more than any other player.