Defender scores 'beautiful' own goal, Uruguay loses to Italy

Center back Jose Gimenez scored an own goal to open the scoring for Italy in a 3-0 victory over Uruguay in a friendly match on the evening of June 7.

Goals: Gimenez (7'), Eder (82'), De Rossi (penalty 90'+2)

After Andrea Belotti broke Uruguay's offside trap and ran down to receive the ball in the 16m50 box, Gimenez rushed in to block but the shot was too difficult for goalkeeper Muslera. The Uruguayan goalkeeper could only watch as his teammate finished into his own net in the seventh minute.

The early goal helped the match get more exciting in the first half with dangerous situations between the two teams. However, it was not until the 82nd minute that the audience witnessed another goal. This was another lucky goal for Italy when Gabbiadini's shot found Eder's position and the striker headed into the empty net.

Italy sealed a 3-0 win in stoppage time thanks to a successful penalty from Daniele de Rossi, after El Shaarawy had earlier won a penalty after being fouled by Gimenez in the box. It was a bad night for the 22-year-old Atletico centre-back.

The victory over Uruguay was a positive one for Italy. Coach Giampiero Ventura had the opportunity to experiment with new formations, including the combination of the attacking quartet of Insigne, Belotti, Immobile and Candreva in a 4-2-2-2 formation.

Italy will play Liechtenstein in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers on June 11. The team in blue is currently second in Group G with 13 points, the same as Spain, but with a lower goal difference.

According to VNE