Pirlo to miss Italy match against Azerbaijan

A win away to Group H rivals Azerbaijan later Saturday will see Italy book their place in the Euro 2016 finals and Italian football federation (FIGC) bosses are already keen for Conte to sign a contract extension until 2018.

After Eder’s opener and an equalizer from Dmitri Nazarov, El Shaarawy finished off a counterattack in the 43rd for his first national team goal since November 2012.

Italy eventually got their third courtesy of defender Darmian 25 minutes from time as the Manchester United man shrugged Nazarov off the ball before producing a finish from distance.

Norway beat Malta 2-0 to go five points clear in second place, with third-placed Croatia facing Bulgaria later on Saturday.

Conte is hopeful Pirlo will be fit to play a few part in Italy’s final Group H qualifier at home to Norway on Tuesday, by which point he will hope his players have sealed qualification.

Azerbaijan lost their first four matches of the qualifying campaign but have been reborn since the appointment of Robert Prosinecki as coach.

The Sampdoria man timed his run to beat the offside trap and collect Verratti’s expert pass before prodding the ball past Kamran Agayev to settle any Italian nerves.

Antonio Conte’s side broke the deadlock on 10 minutes through Eder but Azerbaijan stunned the visitors on 31 minutes when a mix up between Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci allowed Dimitrij Nazarov to level the scores.

The Azzurri dominated possession but the hosts that had the first shot on goal when Ruslan Gurbanov tried his luck from long range and saw his right-foot effort saved by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The Azzurri reacted, with El Shaarawy’s powerfully struck half-volley going over before he shot off target following Aghayev’s weak punch.

Italy regained the lead two minutes before the break when a good move involving Graziano Pelle and Antonio Candreva ended with Stephan El Shaarawy planting the ball into an empty met.

Eder was readying himself to celebrate, only for Azerbaijan captain Rashad Sadygov to rush back and clear the ball off the goalline.