Leeds United’s season might have come to an end at the beginning of May but for a handful of Elland Road stars, the 2024-25 campaign has still not come to an end.
Mateo Joseph’s season finally ended on Saturday night, with Joseph’s last involvement being to stop his Spain teammates physically confronting Charlie Cresswell after England won their quarter-final clash.
Brenden Aaronson notched an assist as USA made it three wins from three in the group stages and now face Costa Rica in The Gold Cup quarter-finals next Monday. Willy Gnonto is also in action with Italy.
Italy’s U21 side reached the quarter-finals in Slovakia, second behind Spain after drawing against Joseph in the group stages. They took on Germany on Sunday night, and it ended in a 3-2 extra-time defeat.
SOCGermany vs Italy
Photo by ANP via Getty Images
It has been a difficult tournament for Gnonto. The Leeds ace has been used as a false nine so far, starting three of Italy’s four games but ending the tournament without scoring a single goal – and being sent off.
Italy’s high press meant their attackers were constantly nibbling at Germany’s ball-playing defenders and midfielders. Gnonto picked up two yellow cards, with the second one very harsh – reducing Italy to 10.
Italy went down to nine men before making it 2-2. But, Germany scored in the 117th minute to secure a 3-2 win after Gnonto had exited in tears. CalcioMercato said Gnonto ‘ruins everything’ in their title.
CM gave him a 4/10: “He is out of position, and it shows. He worked hard, tried a few counterattacks but missed an open goal. He completes the job by mowing down an opponent, leaving Italy with 10 men.”
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Eurosport gave Gnonto 4.5/10: “He has a great chance but his game is mediocre. He suffers in physical duels and is unable to unleash his speed. He gets sent off for two naive warnings, especially the second.”
Germany v Italy - UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025 Quarter-Final
Photo by Tullio Puglia – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Willy Gnonto’s chances of Italy call-up are not looking good
With the 2026 World Cup around the corner, Gnonto will have been hoping to use the U21 Euros as a stage to prove to Italy manager Luciano Spalletti that he deserves a spot within Italy’s senior squad.
A player that was a regular in Italy’s senior side under Roberto Mancini, while at Zurich and then during his only season with Leeds in the Premier League. But he has since dropped into the Under-21 side.
If Gnonto was hoping to catch the eye of Spalletti with a good show in the U21 tournament in Slovakia, then he’s failed to do so. Now, Gnonto will have to prove himself in the Premier League with Leeds.