Belotti had an early attempt from distance after only two minutes, although the ball sailed comfortably over the bar. Buffon was then put to work in the 11th minute, although he did well to keep out a shot from Leon Goretzka. The 25th minute then saw De Rossi play a wonderful ball forward to Immobile, although the striker was unable to direct his shot on target. Germany soon responded through Gerhardt, although Buffon was unsurprisingly prompt in his response. During the interval Ventura made the first two of his six substitutions: Gianluigi Donnarumma came on in place of Buffon (his second appearance after making his debut in Bari against France), whilst Davide Astori replaced Romagnoli. The Azzurri shown great character in the second half with De Rossi inspiring the play, and Belotti and Immobile prepared to attack the space in behind. There was a key moment in the 63rd minute as Volland scored for Germany, however the goal was disallowed for offside. Italy responded swiftly and Federico Bernardeschi replaced Eder, although the substitute’s low strike was saved well by Leno. Italy’s momentum grew in the 81st minute and Belotti went extremely close to breaking the deadlock, although his well-worked effort hit the post.  Italy improved in the second half; they were more decisive, more exciting and more energetic. It was a great response from Ventura’s Azzurri team. The coach opted to replace Belotti will Simone Zaza in the final three minutes, whilst Nicola Sansone also came on in the place of Ciro Immobile. These were the final actions in the final match of 2016.
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