Ten-man Italy started their
Russia 2018 campaign with a 3-1 win against Israel in Haifa
Monday night.
Graziano Pellè and Antonio Candreva put Italy 2-0 up before
Maccabi Tel Aviv winger Tal Ben Haim got Israel back into the
match with a glorious chip 10 minutes before half-time.
Giorgio Chiellini was sent off for a second yellow 10
minutes into the second half and Italy had to endure some scares
before Ciro Immobile put the seal on the victory with a fine
finish seven minutes from time.
Meanwhile Spain hammered Liechtenstein 8-0 in their World
Cup qualifying opener in Leon.
Albania and Macedonia will finish their game on Tuesday
after rain stopped play with 15 minutes to go with the sides
level at 1-1.
The Azzurri now entertain Spain in Turin on October 6.
Coach Giampiero Ventura said "we were in disarray for five
minutes but we could have killed off the match earlier.
"We'll be better against Spain".
Only the group winners qualify directly for the 2018 World
Cup.
Among the nine group runners-up, the eight best runners-up
will advance to the play-offs, where they will be drawn into
four home-and-away ties to determine the other four qualifiers.
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