Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali was involved in an unconvincing win for Italy over Moldova in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.
The Azzurri sneaked a late 2-0 win in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau on another tough night for a nation who were once major players in international football.
Tonali’s chances of making the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico still aren’t looking good.
Norway are all-but certain to qualify as group winners and Italy could be condemned to another play-off, which they have lost ahead of the last two World Cups.
Tonali has been one of Newcastle’s best players this season during a difficult campaign for the club but his performance on Thursday night was hardly heralded by his native press.
Here’s how some of the Italian media rated the Newcastle United star.
Italian media react to Sandro Tonali’s performance for Italy against Moldova
There was an acceptance that Tonali had a difficult game, with Moldova defending so deeply.
Football Italia handed Tonali a 6/10 rating and said: “Wasn’t the easiest game for him to impress. 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. “
Sky Sport Italia, meanwhile, gave him a 5.5/10 and 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.
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Tonali was as all-action as ever, it seems.
As per FotMob data, he had 86 touches, made nine passes into the final third and still boasted a passing accuracy rate of 86%.
Defensively, he contributed with one clearance, two tackles and five ball recoveries. Impressively, he was not dispossessed once.
| Moldova vs Italy statistics | Sandro Tonali |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Touches | 86 |
| Accurate passes | 60/70 |
| Passes into final third | 9 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Dispossessed | 0 |
| Tackles | 2 |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
He’s perhaps had more eye-catching performances but he appears to have dominated the midfield as you might expect, given the difference in quality of the two nations.
It would be a shame for Tonali to miss out on yet another major tournament. Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2022 edition ruled him out in Qatar, while his betting ban made him unavailable for Euro 2024.
Fortunately for Newcastle, Italy have confirmed that Tonali will be dropped for their next World Cup qualifier. Obviously, he won’t be released from their camp but it seems almost certain he won’t play any more minutes.
The 25-year-old is on a booking and he may miss a play-off game if he was to pick up another one against Norway on Sunday.
That is brilliant news for Eddie Howe, who needs his star midfielder at full fitness to address Newcastle’s worrying slump in form.
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