By Anna Italia
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53% Ball Possession AZERBAIJAN and 47% Ball Possession ITALY
Azerbaijan 1 – 3 Italy 
30′ Dimitrij Nazarov 11′ Citadin Eder
. 43′ Stephan El Shaarawy
. 65′ Matteo Darmian
Mission accomplished! Italy qualifying to the UEFA EURO 2016 after defeating Azerbaijan at the Baku Olympic Stadium on Matchday 9 with one game to spare. Italy will play Matchday 10 against Norway on October 13 at the Olimpico di Roma Stadium. A good game for Italy Head Coach Antonio Conte seeing his players dominating the match to claim the victory.
| UEFA Euro 2016 – Group H Group Stage Standingafter Matchday 9, Saturday 10 October 2015 |
P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Italy |
9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
 Norway |
9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 19 |
 Croatia * |
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 14 |
 Bulgaria |
8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 8 |
 Azerbaijan |
9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | -9 | 6 |
 Malta |
9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 2 |
Source: uefa.com
Italy opening the score in the 11th minute with forward Citadin Eder defeating Azerbaijan goalkeeper Kamran Arhayev with a right footed shot. The assist is by Marco Verratti.
Azerbaijan equalizing in the 30th minute with Dimitrij Nazarov defeating Italy goalkeeper Gigi Buffon with a right footed shot in the bottom right corner.
Italy taking the lead again in the 43rd minute with forward Stephan El Shaarawy delivering a right footed shot after getting the assist by Antonio Candreva.
Party time for Italy in the 65th minute!!! It is defender Matteo Darmian to defeat goalkeeper Agayev with a right footed shot from about 25 yards in the lower left corner. It’s a historical goal for Darmian because it is his first international goal.
Azerbaijan ends the game with 10 players. Referee William Collum gives a red card to defender Badavi Huseynov after a foul on Italy forward Sebastian Giovinco.
Here is AZERBAIJAN official starting lineup by coach Robert Prosinečki:
AZERBAIJAN (4-3-2-1): K. Agayev; Medvedev, Hüseynov, Sadygov (cap.), Dashdemirov; Eddy, Garayev, Amirguliyev; Ismayilov, Nazarov; R. Gurbanov.
Here is ITALY official starting lineup by coach Antonio Conte:
ITALY (4-4-2): Buffon (cap.); Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Sciglio, Candreva, Verratti, Parolo, El Shaarawy; Pellè, Éder.
Photos of the match Azerbaijan vs Italy courtesy of facebook.com/FIGC.
Italy forward Citadin Eder celebrating after scoring against Azerbaijan
Italy forward Stephan El Shaarawy celebrating after his goal to give Italy the lead again.
Italy head coach Antonio Conte giving instructions to the players during the game
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualification – Group H
Azerbaijan 1 – 3 Italy
Saturday 10 October 2015
Bakı Olimpiya Stadionu
Baku, Azerbaijan
18:00 (CET)
Referee: William Collum (SCO)
Assistant referees: Damien MacGraith (IRL), Francis Connor (SCO)
Fourth official: Alastair Mather (SCO)
Additional assistant referees: Bobby Madden (SCO), John Beaton (SCO)
Goals:
Official lineup s- formations
AZERBAIJAN (4-3-2-1): K. Agayev; Medvedev, Hüseynov, Sadygov (cap.), Dashdemirov; Eddy, Garayev, Amirguliyev; Ismayilov, Nazarov; R. Gurbanov.
Subs: A. Mammadov, Nazirov; Pashayev, Abışov, Guliyev, Mirzabekov, Sadiqov, E. Mammadov, Erat, Hajiyev, Jafarov.
Coach: Robert Prosinečki.
ITALY (4-4-2): Buffon (cap.); Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Sciglio, Candreva, Verratti, Parolo, El Shaarawy; Pellè, Éder.
Subs.: Padelli, Sirigu; Barzagli, Santon, Florenzi, Soriano, Bonaventura, Montolivo, Bertolacci, Zaza, Giovinco, Quagliarella.
Coach: Antonio Conte.
Match Stats
| Azerbaijan | Match Stats | Italy |
| 1 | Goals | 3 |
| 9 | Total Attempts | 13 |
| 9(8) | Shots (on goal) | 17(10) |
| 8 | Fouls | 12 |
| 3 | Corner kicks | 5 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
| 53% | Ball Possession | 47% |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 1 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 3 | Saves | 5 |
