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GRAZIANO Pelle maintained his goalscoring start to the new season for his country last night.
The Saints striker scored the only goal midway through the second half as Italy moved to the top of Euro 2016 qualifying Group H thanks to a 1-0 victory over Malta, in Florence.
Pelle’s winner enabled Italy to move above Croatia at the top of their pool and edge closer to booking their ticket to the finals in France next summer.
Italy had to wait until the 69th minute when Antonio Candreva’s cross was turned in from close range by Pelle, who appeared to know little about it as the ball went in off his hip.
It was Pelle’s third goal in just five senior appearances for his country.
He also scored the only goal against Malta on his debut last autumn, as well as netting in a 1-1 draw against England in March.
Pelle has already scored four times in eight appearances for Saints this season.
Italy now host fourth-placed Bulgaria, in Palermo, on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Maya Yoshida scored for Japan, as they beat Cambodia 3-0 in a match that doubled as a 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifier.
The Saints centre-half netted the second goal, with a low, angled strike from outside the area five minutes after half-time.
Keisuke Honda had given Japan a first-half lead in Saitama, while Shinji Kagawa completed the scoring with a 61st-minute effort.
Japan, who drew their opening qualifier with Singapore, now travel to Iran, where they will face Afghanistan on Tuesday, in their third qualifying game in Group E.
It was also a memorable day for Saints midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who led the England Under-21 team to victory on his first night as captain.
Ward-Prowse and his club teammate Matt Targett both started in the 1-0 friendly win against USA Under-23s, at Preston.
Fellow Saints youngster Jack Stephens also came on as a substitute, to make his debut for the under-21s.
England’s winner came in the 72nd minute, courtesy of James Wilson.
Ward-Prowse said: “It’s very pleasing. It’s always very difficult when a new squad comes together and you only have a few days to achieve the bond.
“But you could see the quality tonight, we played well and although we’ve only been together for a few days, you could see how well we worked together.”
England now open their qualifying campaign for the 2017 Euros with a game away to Norway, on Monday.
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