The Italian media have given their verdict on Sandro Tonali's performance as Italy lost their World Cup playoff match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The unthinkable happened on Tuesday night, with Italy losing their playoff clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties and consigning themselves to a third consecutive missed FIFA World Cup.
The Azzurri have now won just one World Cup finals match since lifting the trophy in 2006, with that sole victory, of course, coming against England in the 2014 group stage. And that run of form is even more jarring considering they’ve reached two European Championship finals during that time - once again beating England to win Euro 2020.
Italian media react as Sandro Tonali and Azzurri suffer more World Cup heartbreak
Sandro Tonali was part of the latest Italian side to disgrace themselves and utterly disappoint an entire nation. It was a disastrous night in Zenica. Moise Kean opened the scoring on 15 minutes, but the pressure was piled on Italy when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off just before half-time. Haris Tabakovic equalised in the 79th minute, setting the stage for a 4-1 shootout loss for Italy, with misses from Francesco Esposito and Bryan Cristante.
However, Tonali himself gave a good account of himself on the night, and was the only Italian player to convert his spot-kick. The Newcastle United midfielder put in a huge shift, winning five of his eight duels and drawing three fouls, while making one interception and four recoveries. Covering every blade of grass, the 25-year-old also completed 30 of his 38 passes and nine passes into the final third (FotMob).
On a night of utter shame in Italy, the native press, at least, recognised Tonali was not to blame for this embarrassment, with the Magpie getting favourable reviews from newspaper player ratings.
Giving Tonali 6.5/10, Calciomercato wrote: “This national team can't do without their number 8. He's simply everywhere: pressing all over the pitch, he created the only opportunities that troubled Bosnia and Herzegovina's defence. He's the only one who managed to convert his own penalty in the lottery that eliminated us.”
Tuttosport, meanwhile, gave Tonali 6/10, writing: “A step back from Bergamo (semi-final win vs Northern Ireland in which he scored), but he puts so much heart into it.”
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