While neither found the target, both showed glimpses of why Conte had shown faith in them.
Immobile’s strength and movement created space for his team mates, despite opposition who were content to defend in numbers and the former Torino forward looks confident and determined following his close-season move to Germany’s Borussia Dortmund.
Zaza, who plays for Serie A minnows Sassuolo, has the skill-set to deliver moments of unexpected brilliance – and he went close to a memorable goal with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
But the shaven-headed forward missed a clear chance from close range and both he and Immobile lacked decisiveness in the penalty area.
"It is not important that we didn’t score because we play to help the team win games," said Immobile, who accepted however that "we had chances to kill the game before their equaliser".
It was left to defender Giorgio Chiellini to score the Azzurri’s goals, either side of an own goal from the Italy centre back, and Conte was quick to point out that while his team had done well to secure the three points, their finishing was wayward.
"I couldn't really ask for more from the lads, apart from the lack of sharpness in finishing in front of goal," said the coach, who took over from Cesare Prandelli after Italy’s first-round exit at the World Cup.
WINNING HEADER
It would be no surprise though if the pair start again on Monday although the former Juventus coach does have a couple of interesting options.
Sebastian Giovinco brought Italy’s attack to life after coming on as a second-half substitute and hitting the bar as well as providing the cross for Chiellini’s winning header.
But the Juventus forward was quick to praise the contribution of Immobile and Zaza in tiring out the Azerbaijan defence.
"They are doing extremely well in attack, they are running a lot and are very important for the team even when they are far from the opponent’s goal," he said.
The other option, who may well see some time on the field against Malta, is Graziano Pelle, who after a prolific spell in the Dutch league has enjoyed an impressive start to life in the Premier League with Southampton.
A more physical presence, in the mould of former Italy strikers like Christian Vieri and Luca Toni, Pelle certainly offers something different and it would be a surprise if Conte did not want to at least get a taste of what he could bring to the Azzurri.
Whether the work-rate and effort of Immobile and Zaza proves to be enough to cement a starting place for the new pairing remains to be seen.
If they fail to score against minnows like Azerbaijan and Malta they can have few complaints if Conte returns to Balotelli or other options for the much tougher test in November against Croatia, joint leaders with Italy on six points.
(Reporting By Simon Evans, Editing by Mark Meadows)
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