Dutch play 1-1 draw against Italy

TURIN, Italy: Nathan Ake headed in a late equaliser as the Netherlands held 10-man Italy 1-1 in Monday’s international friendly in Turin between two heavyweights who failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Simone Zaza had put Italy ahead after 67 minutes in Juventus’ Allianz Stadium but the hosts were hit two minutes later when defender Domenico Criscito was sent off for a tackle on Ryan Babel.

Bournemouth centre-back Ake got the equaliser past the hosts two minutes from time, and almost added a second in injury time.

Both sides are rebuilding after failing to reach the World Cup finals in Russia.

New Italy coach Roberto Mancini’s first three games in charge have resulted in a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia, 3-1 defeat by France, and 1-1 draw against the Dutch.

Mancini said he was optimistic with what he had seen in his first two weeks in charge. The Dutch are also forging a new era under Ronaldo Koeman after failing to qualify for both Euro 2016 and the World Cup.

Four-time world champions Italy proved wasteful in the first half despite dominating play with chances from Andrea Belotti, Simone Verdi and Criscito.

Torino striker Belotti — starting in place of Mario Balotelli — had the ball in the net within three minutes but the goal was ruled offside.

Lorenzo Insigne — wearing the captain’s armband on his 27th birthday — then set up Verdi who fired over, with Criscito’s header cleared off the line by Ruud Vormer.

Koeman’s side got into their stride more after the break but Italy nevertheless opened the scoring when second half substitute Zaza picked up a Federico Chiesa centre. But minutes later Criscito was sent off for a mistimed tackle, giving three-time World Cup runners-up the Netherlands a numerical advantage.