Emanuele Giaccherini scored in the first half and Graziano Pelle added a second late on as Italy defeated Belgium 2-0 in their opening game at the European Championship on Monday.
Giaccherini provided a tidy finish after a long Leonardo Bonucci pass and also made an important block at the other end as Italy held off a Belgium flurry to top Group E.
The Belgians started as the better team as Radja Nainggolan sent in a boucing shot from 30 yards that forced Gianluigi Buffon to save in the 10th minute.
But Italy withstood the attack and regained their footing after the opening 20 minutes.