Newspaper verdicts after Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland: Tonali, Kean and Politano praise

The Italian press have had their say on Italy’s 2-0 World Cup play-off semi-final victory over Northern Ireland, and many feel that there were encouraging signs from Gennaro Gattuso’s side in their second-half performance after what was widely described as a difficult first 45. 

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News – Free Trial – Click Here

How did the press in Italy react to Northern Ireland victory?

Italy beat Northern Ireland thanks to goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean in Bergamo on Thursday evening, and will now go on to challenge Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home for a spot in the final tournament on Tuesday night as a result. 

The Azzurri are the highest-ranked nation in the World that has not yet qualified for the World Cup, and despite being the second-most successful nation in the tournament’s history, Italy has not appeared in the competition since 2014. They have not featured in a knock-out game since winning the trophy in 2006 either. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport admits that this is not a brilliant Italy side compared to some of its great teams of years gone by, but says that there is enough individual quality, particularly from Tonali. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport also says that Gattuso’s side showed the required level team spirit against Northern Ireland, and that this is a quality that Gattuso has picked up from his former mentor Marcello Lippi. 

Similarly, Corriere dello Sport editor Ivan Zazzaroni suggests that Italy’s biggest strength heading into the Bosnia and Herzegovina play-off final will be its unity. 

He points to the team that won the European Championship in 2021: Despite the fact that there was arguably more quality in that side compared to the current squad, it was the togetherness that got the Azzurri over the line after coming into the final as underdogs against hosts England. 

The Italian newspapers are widely in agreement over the best performing Italy players against Northern Ireland on Thursday night. Tonali has stolen most of the headlines, Kean has earned praise for his goal as well, but Tuttosport has also singled out Matteo Politano for praise, while others have praised Pio Esposito and Marco Palestra for their showings off the bench. 

On the other hand, most papers agree that Mateo Retegui was the worst performing Italy player on the night, with most outlets handing him a score of 5/10.