Sandro Tonali was the hero of Italy after he helped his country to a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland
Italy's Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring his side's first goal against Northern Ireland
Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring Italy's first goal against Northern Ireland(Image: AP)
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Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali is the toast of Italy after his performance helped inspire his country to a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Northern Ireland.
The Magpies star was the national hero thanks to his goal which broke the deadlock, before he helped set-piece Moise Kean for the second.
The win means Gennaro Gattuso's side will now face Bosnia Herzegovina in the play-off final on Tuesday, March 31 in Zenica, with the winners earning a place in this summer's World Cup.
Tonali had been an injury doubt after he was forced to miss Newcastle's derby-day defeat to Sunderland with a hip injury he picked up against Barcelona last week. However, he was named in the starting XI and played a key role in the victory for the Azzurri, managing 82 minutes for Azzurri.
The Italian media were quick to heap praise on Tonali, with Corriere Dello Sport awarding him a rating of 7.5. They said: "The scream may not be Tardelli's, but the roar is. He sparks the game, putting Italy in the center of the action. His pass to Kean makes it 2-0."
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Respected Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport were fullsome in the praise for the United star, referencing Gattuso's claim that he was carrying Italy on his shoulders.
"Yesterday, at the start of Italy-Northern Ireland, he placed it on the strong shoulders of Sandro Tonali, and the boy carried it within 90 minutes of the World Cup: a goal, an assist," the wrote.
"The coach chose the right shoulders, he chose his shadow on the pitch, a former AC Milan player, a struggling number 8 who was half-injured, but who cares, like Rino did, a ball-stealing player who knows how to defend like Ringhio."
Speaking after the game, Tonali said: "It is the most important goal of my career so far, right up there with the one I scored against Lazio back when I was at Milan.
"At the start, there was some tension, but as the minutes passed, the match changed. After the 1-0, we played with much more freedom and moved the ball well. I need to analyse it further, but I think we did well.
"We focused on neutralizing their strengths, and when you concede so little against teams like this, it’s hard for them to score."
"Are we confident now? This should be a massive boost. We have always worked hard, we’ve been building this way since the manager arrived, so let’s stay on this path. We have to win - we have no other choice."
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