Stefano Sensi and Marco Verratti had set the Azzurri on their way, while Juventus star Moise Kean added a fifth 20 minutes from time and debutant Leonardo Pavoletti completed the scoring.

Italy manager Roberto Mancini made seven changes, including a senior debut for Atalanta defender Gianluca Mancini, while Quagliarella made his first Azzurri start since 2010.

And Italy, fresh from defeating Finland 2-0 in their opening qualifying game, never looked back after Sassuolo's Sensi opened their account with a powerful header after 17 minutes.

Liechtenstein, ranked 181st in the world and with just two wins from their last 31 games, continued to find themselves under pressure as Verratti fired a shot just over the bar.

But the Paris St Germain player was not to be denied 14 minutes before half-time when he beat a number of defenders before finding the target for a superb solo goal.

And before Liechtenstein could regroup, they fell further behind, conceding a 35th-minute penalty that Quagliarella converted. It meant 18 successive Italy goals had been scored by different players, a run stretching back to June 2017.

Nicolas Hasler conceded the penalty for handball, but the visitors did not learn their lesson and gave away another spot-kick during the dying seconds of a one-sided half.

This time, Kaufmann was the culprit – although the ball seemed to hit his shoulder – and was sent off while Quagliarella once again found the net, making it 4-0.

The game won, Italy cruised through the second period as Kean and Pavoletti sealed an emphatic success.

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