Only two Italy players saved face in a 4-1 loss against Norway in the World Cup qualifiers.
Donnarumma 5.5 – Not really at fault for any of the four goals, but not always confident when claiming the ball from Norway’s crosses.
Di Lorenzo 4.5 – Stuck in no man’s land in midfield. Too defensive to attack and too attacking to defend. A hybrid position that didn’t help the team.
Mancini 4.5 – Some tough clashes with Haaland. Won most of the ground duels, but was weak in the air. Strand Larsen dribbled past him to score the fourth goal for Norway.
Bastoni 4 – He was too irritable in the second half. Unsurprisingly, he was booked. Gave away the ball in the build-up to Norway’s third goal. A poor defensive performance despite his many touches. (86′ Buongiorno N/A).
Politano 5.5 – Pros: interesting cross-field passes. One even inspired Italy’s goal. Cons: Too weak defensively. He ran a lot, but naturally struggled when forced to defend in the final third.
Barella 5.5 – Simple, accurate passes, but only won one duel. Subbed off before he received a second yellow card. (86′ Ricci N/A).
Locatelli 5 – He made more touches than any other Italy player. The problem is that the ball just moved too slowly. (79′ Scamacca N/A).
Frattesi 4 – His trademark late runs inside the box were nowhere to be seen. The Inter midfielder only made 15 touches in nearly 70 minutes (via Sofascore) and was too sloppy defensively (68′ Cristante 5).
Dimarco 6 – Provided the assist for Retegui and had the best Italy chance in the second half.
Retegui 5 – Fought hard, especially in the opening 45 minutes, but didn’t have many chances to hurt Norway.
Esposito 6 – Second goal in two games. Third in his first five Italy appearances. Not more to add. (79′ Zaccagni N/A).
Coach: Gattuso 4.5 – Italy melted after the first difficulty, as he also admitted. The first half’s performance was really good, but perhaps it was due to Norway’s soft approach. When they started playing properly, Italy could not react, and it’s worrying to think about it before the playoffs.
Norway: Nyland 6; Ryerson 6.5, Ajer 6.5, Heggem 6.5, Moller Wolfe 6.5 (89′ Ostigard N/A); Thorstvedt 6 (75′ Aasgard N/A), Berge 6.5, Berg 6.5 (64′ Thorsby 7), Nusa 7.5; Sorloth 7 (76′ Bobb 7.5), Haaland 8 (89′ Strand Larsen 7). Coach: Solbakken 8.
Had Norway 5tarted playing in the fir5t half, they would’ve 5cored nine 😂😂😂
So, Rosario…please offer some unique punditry about how Seria A NOT developing Italian talent is to blame. Wait…Not much punditry needed because common sense, unlike your rantings, is what’s needed.
There has got to be better defensive players than these guys
there was lots of money on Italy. This game meant nothing. Do you think if it was important, Tonali would of played at 50%. This team runs through him. No Tonali, No Party
3-5-1-1
Mancini-Biongiorno-Bastoni
Orsolini-Barella-Crisante-Pellegrini-DiMarco
Tonali
Kean
@Totti – you are correct in a sense, this game means nothing as nothing changes regarding the qualification. Second in the group is still second in the group. But it’s a terrible humiliation – to be so comprehensively beaten at home. And it will give Italy’s next opponents lots of confidence so see how easily Italy can be taken apart. Last night was a very bad result for several reasons.
Totti that team is total crap. Orsolini, di marco, cristante and pellegrini are not good enough to play for Italy
Tell me you’re a Roma fan without telling me you’re a Roma fan