04.09.2015 12:55 h

No Maltese holiday for Pelle as Italy sight Euro finals

After a 1-0 win took Italy to the brink of Euro 2016 qualification, Graziano Pelle could jokingly claim he would be as welcome in Malta as Thierry Henry would be in Ireland.

The Southampton striker settled the game in the 69th minute after his arm made contact with Antonio Candreva's sweeping cross and flew past goalkeeper Andrew Hogg and into the Malta net.

It may not have been as premeditated as the Henry handball that kept the ball in play for William Gallas to score against the Republic of Ireland in a crucial World Cup play-off in 2009, sealing France's trip to the finals in South Africa.

But the effect was essentially the same.

Italy went joint top of Group H, level on points (15) with Croatia, and could book their Euro 2016 ticket with a win against Bulgaria in Palermo on Sunday -- although they are not in the clear yet.

Norway, 1-0 winners in Bulgaria and only two points behind Croatia and Italy, are still in contention for one of the top two qualifying spots while Croatia, held to a scoreless draw by Azerbaijan, on Friday appealed a UEFA decision that could see them docked them a point after a swastika was painted on the grass of the Hajduk Split stadium when they played Italy to a 1-1 draw last June.

Meanwhile, Pelle, who enjoyed the bulk of Italy's scoring chances against a heavily-fortified Maltese backline, feigned ignorance over his goal.

"I don't quite know how the ball came off me, but it's my job to score goals," said the Italian, who also hit the winner in a 1-0 win away to Malta earlier in the campaign.

Italy coach Antonio Conte had deployed a 4-3-3 formation aimed at countering Malta's ultra-defensive 5-3-2 but also to gauge how the "dearth of versatile strikers in Serie A" would fare working the wings either side of Pelle.

Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini and Sampdoria striker Eder were given the role, the former hitting post and crossbar in the first half and Eder notably coming close with a daisycutter that inched wide of the post.

Italy would have scored on several occasions had their shots not come off a Maltese leg or boot. On some occasions, the visitors had eight men in the area, while Hogg kept their sheet clean with several fine saves until he was finally beaten by Pelle's arm.

Given Malta's game-killing tactics, Conte was quick to respond to criticism.

"We knew Malta would come here and rely heavily on their defence. Playing against teams like that is never easy," he said.

"Football is changing. Look at Azerbaijan, who held Croatia to a draw and haven't been beaten in their past three games."

Given the fact that Malta, who are bottom with just one point, already have no chance to qualify, there can be no comparison with Henry's handball.

Even the visitors' Italian coach, Pietro Ghedin, admitted: "I haven't seen the goal or how it was scored. But it's not important. The game is finished."

But if Italy squeeze into the Euro 2016 finals, the incident will likely be recalled by their critics.

A win against Bulgaria in Palermo on Sunday is now crucial to Italy's qualifying hopes and Conte won't take them lightly.

"We will have to put a bit more muscle into the midfield because it will be a far more difficult game," said Conte.

"And I will have to make changes. There are players who can't handle playing two games in the space of three days."