It took 69 minutes for the former World champions to break down a stubborn, tenacious Malta. Southampton forward Graziano Pelle was the one who made the difference as Thursday's 1-0 puts them one step closer to Euro 2016 qualification.
Italy, who were without a win in their previous four matches, found it difficult to break down a packed Maltese defence at the Artemio Franchi stadium.
The win brought their total points to 15 which puts them on top of Group H. Croatia is behind with a point less.
It was also Pelle, who scored the only goal when Italy won by the same score in Malta earlier in the group.
He was in the thick of the action throughout for Italy seeing a shot deflected over the crossbar and headed another over from a corner.
However it was nearly different as Malta, bottom of the group with one point, nearly took a sensational lead just before the half hour when Alfred Effiong curled a shot just wide of Gianluigi Buffon's far post.
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