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Sandro Tonali played the full 90 minutes for Italy against Moldova, but how have his native media reacted to his performance?
Italy continued their recent winning streak with a 2-0 victory away at Moldova in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday evening.
The Azzurri have now won each of their last six matches following a miserable 3-0 defeat away at Norway to open the qualification campaign. Of course, that loss looks to be very costly, with Norway maintaining a 100% record and holding a three-point advantage at the top of the group, meaning Italy must beat them with a 17-goal swing to qualify automatically for next summer’s tournament.
Gennaro Gattuso’s side were wholly unconvincing in Chișinău, needing 88th and 92nd-minute strikes from Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Esposito, respectively, to deliver the victory.
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali played the full 90 minutes for his country, so how did he perform and what have the Italian media said about his showing?
How did Sandro Tonali play vs Moldova?
Tonali scored 7.6 out of 10 on FotMob’s stats-backed player ratings system. The 25-year-old made a match-high two tackles on the night, adding further defensive resilience with a clearance and six possession recoveries.
The Magpies man was also progressive on the ball, completing 11 passes into the final third and both of his attempted long passes, though he was accurate with just 85% of his passes overall and failed to create a single chance.
Tonali attempted two shots, with one from outside the box forcing a save from goalkeeper Andriy Kozhukhar, while he won two of his three ground duels and lost his only aerial duel.
What have the Italian media said about Sandro Tonali’s performance vs Moldova?
While Tonali scored well from a statistical perspective, sections of the Italian media gave a less favourable view of his performance.
Sky Sport Italia gave him a rating of just 5.5, criticising his lack of creativity against a side camped behind the ball and determined to frustrate Italy.
They wrote: “With Cristante watching his back, Sandro gets closer to the attackers but lacks the flair to find interesting openings. Not even a noteworthy opening. Lacking clarity and this time not even aggressive.”
English-language site Football Italia were more positive, praising Tonali’s possession play and tackling, though they still only scored him 6/10 due to being suffocated by Moldova’s low block.
“Wasn’t the easiest game for him to impress,” wrote Peter Young. “Moldova didn’t have much possession, and often had 11 players behind the ball, which didn’t give Tonali much room to show his strength, power or drive. Didn’t put much of a foot wrong on the ball. His two tackles were the most of any Italy player.”
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What next for Sandro Tonali?
Tonali and his teammates will now prepare for their final World Cup qualifier against Norway at the San Siro on Sunday evening, needing an extremely heavy victory to seal automatic progression.
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