ROME: Italy opened Gennaro Gattuso’s reign with a 5-0 home win over Estonia in their World Cup qualifier, wasting chances for almost an hour before exploding in the final stages of the second half to turn dominance into a rout.

The spotlight was on new Italy manager Gattuso, with his side on the back foot in Group I after a 3-0 defeat at Norway in June that cost coach Luciano Spalletti his job.

Italy sit third in their group on six points from three games, with Norway leading on 12 and Israel second with nine, both having played a match more. Estonia are fourth with three points after five matches.

For the four-time World Cup winners Italy, the domestic pressure has been immense to secure a place at the upcoming tournament held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, after missing the last two editions.

“We showed great hunger, hard work and humility all week. We proved we’re still standing and want to fight for qualification,” double goalscorer Mateo Retegui told RAI Sport.

Italy controlled the first half and carved out several chances, but the opener proved elusive as Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein brilliantly tipped Retegui’s header onto the crossbar just before the break in Italy’s biggest chance of the half.

The hosts maintained their dominance after the break, but Hein produced a series of reaction saves to frustrate Italy’s pursuit of a breakthrough.

Two minutes before the hour mark, relief swept through the Gewiss Stadium as Moise Kean broke the deadlock for Italy, nodding home from close range after Retegui’s deft back-heel flick lobbed a cross perfectly into his path.

Retegui doubled the lead in the 69th minute with a precise finish that crept inside the post beyond Hein’s outstretched hand, before Giacomo Raspadori added a third a minute later with a diving header from a byline cross.

A minute from time, Retegui grabbed his second of the night with a close-range header, before Alessandro Bastoni added Italy’s fifth deep into stoppage time.

“We have to thank the players for the performance, because we were only lacking a goal in the first half,” Gattuso said.

France beat Ukraine

France struck early through Michael Olise and sealed the points with a late Kylian Mbappe breakaway to beat Ukraine 2-0 on Friday and open their World Cup qualifying campaign in style.

Mbappe’s 82nd-minute strike, set up by his Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni at the end of a rapid counter attack, lifted the forward to 51 international goals, drawing him level with Thierry Henry in second place on France’s all-time scoring list behind Olivier Giroud (57).

“We mastered the first half and could have scored one more, then we struggled briefly but we have so much attacking quality. We had much to lose, so it’s good to start this campaign with a win,” said coach Didier Deschamps.

Mbappe echoed his manager’s comments.

“We could have scored more, I, myself, missed a few, so there is room for improvement. But it’s a good, solid start,” Mbappe said.

Second-half substitute Ousmane Dembele, who had already missed training this week with a thigh issue, aggravated the same injury after replacing Desire Doue at the interval.

Doue had sustained a knock on his right calf before halftime and could not continue. Dembele’s evening also ended early as he came off in the 81st minute, making way for Hugo Ekitike to earn his first cap.

Les Bleus had dominated the opening half in a slick 4-2-3-1 formation, their pace and movement repeatedly pulling Ukraine apart.

Olise gave them the lead after 10 minutes, sliding in a Bradley Barcola pass, and only goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s sharp reflexes prevented further damage as he denied Olise a second and later blocked Dembele after a delicate Tchouameni chip over the defence.

Ukraine, who had threatened early with dangerous crosses into the box, came alive after the hour. Ibrahima Konate cleared off the line from Ivan Kalyuzhnyi before Illia Zabarnyi struck Mike Maignan’s post, briefly putting France’s backline under real pressure.

But once Mbappe sprinted clear to deliver the killer blow with a low drive, Deschamps’s side were able to see out the closing minutes with comfort.

The result gives the 2018 world champions an early edge in Group D against the toughest opposition. The group also includes Iceland and Azerbaijan.

France host Iceland, who destroyed Azerbaijan 5-0, in Paris on Tuesday, while Ukraine travel to Baku.

Scotland hold Danes

Denmark’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup suffered an early setback when they were held to a scoreless draw by Scotland in their Group C qualifier as they dominated possession but could not convert it into goals.

The Danes penned the Scots back for much of the game and created plenty of scoring opportunities at the Parken Stadium.

But the resolute Scottish defence remained compact and forced the home side into taking difficult shots that they struggled to get on target.

An early yellow card for midfielder Pierre Emil Hojbjerg set the tone for a frustrating evening, and in the absence of Christian Eriksen – without a club since his Manchester United contract expired – the Danes lacked a creative spark.

Scottish keeper Angus Gunn had only two saves to make all night, and the Danes will have to up their game as they travel to Athens to meet Greece, who hammered Belarus 5-1 to put themselves in the driving seat in Group C.

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