Gennaro Gattuso got off to an impressive start as Italy coach with Friday's 5-0 thumping of Estonia as he bids to stop the Azzurri missing out on a third straight World Cup.
Goals in the second half from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui – who netted twice – Giacomo Raspadori and Alessandro Bastoni gave Italy three points from a match in Bergamo, which the Azzurri dominated from the first minute and finished with fans chanting Gattuso's name.
Italy are third in Group I, six points behind leaders Norway, who have played one game more, ahead of Monday's clash with second-placed Israel in Debrecen, Hungary.
"We played well and it was all down to the way the boys have conducted themselves this week," said Gattuso.
"We've worked hard and there's been a good atmosphere around the squad.
"When you play as attacking as we did tonight against a better team, you expose yourself to risks, but today we were up against a side that had a bit less than us so it was the right thing to do to be so attack-minded."
A sensational second-half display 💪#ITAEST #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/CxzRch3aTU
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) September 5, 2025
Three points separate Italy from Israel and the group's play-off spot, which is the likelier route for a place in next year's finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico, with only first place offering direct qualification.
In addition to the significant points gap to Norway, Italy have a goal difference that is seven worse than Erling Haaland and company, who thumped the four-time world champions 3-0 in June.
Italy could have made an even bigger dent in the goal difference gap with more accurate finishing earlier in the game, with a host of chances coming and going before Kean eventually nodded home Retegui's neat flick in the 58th minute.
By that point, both strikers had already missed good opportunities, with Kean smashing over from close range in the 37th minute before Retegui had a header tipped over by Karl Hein on the stroke of halftime.
Hein kept out a smart Sandro Tonali volley moments before Kean opened the scoring, and 11 minutes later Retegui doubled the hosts' lead with an expertly placed low shot.
Substitute Raspadori made the scoreline better reflect the balance of play in the 71st minute when he was left completely free to spectacularly head in Matteo Politano's cross.
And Retegui and Bastoni completed the rout in the dying moments of the game with smart headers, which gave Gattuso a near-perfect debut.
