Italy have failed to qualify for World Cup 2026 after defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali had a front row seat
Sandro Tonali’s Italy will not feature at World Cup 2026(Image: Getty)
Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali will not be at the World Cup this summer after Italy’s playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. But the midfielder was singled out as a rose among thorns by the Italian media.
The Italians last graced a World Cup tournament in 2014 having suffered playoff heartbreak prior to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Still, they headed to Zenica on Tuesday with strong hopes of making it to the upcoming edition.
Ex-Everton star Moise Kean opened the scoring after 15 minutes but just before the break disaster struck when Alessandro Bastoni was shown a red card for a last-man foul. Bosnia equalised in the 79th minute before prevailing via spot-kicks.
Tonali stepped up to take his side’s second penalty and slotted it away but two of his countrymen’s misses saw his hopes for the summer dashed. While Italian media has been scathing of the team’s performance, Tonali avoided the lambasting.
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Corriere della Sera
On a night when the majority of the Italian team received criticism, Tonali did not. Corriere della Sera noted that the 25-year-old did find himself swamped in midfield but that he was one of two players they’d like to see kept after a squad overhaul.
Tonali was overrun in midfield despite playing well(Image: Getty)
“The Bosnians’ cage was locked: as soon as the ball reached him [Tonali], three opponents dressed as maximum-security guards jumped on him,” it reported. “He struggled to free himself from his chains. But he was the last to give up. Let’s start again with him. Him and Gigio [Gianluigi Donnarumma].”
This praise comes after some reports suggest the team should be entirely shaken up. The publication added: “It’s natural that from now on, the conversation shifts to what we can finally do to revive our football.
“Because yesterday’s game was the end of a negative trend and it’s time to start from scratch. But [manager Gennaro] Gattuso’s likely exit isn’t without respect: just looking at his face is enough to understand that he’s lost ten years of his life.”
Calciomercato
Tonali was also given a glowing review for his role in the defeat by Calciomercato. Their report reads: “This national team can’t do without their number 8.
“He’s simply everywhere: pressing all over the pitch, he creates the only opportunities that trouble Bosnia’s defence. He’s the only one who manages to convert his own penalty in the lottery that eliminates us.”
The Magpies’ midfielder was the only one to convert a penalty for his team(Image: Getty)
Calciomercato also called for change that evidently excludes Tonali. It continued: “It happened again. Probably in the most painful way. On penalties. Those damned penalties that brought us so little joy and so much pain.
“The time for trials will come and it will come soon. Now is the time to acknowledge the situation: our national team is incapable of qualifying for a World Cup featuring 48 teams.
“Ours is a Federation incapable of leading a team to the World Cup three times in a row. Three times in a row. Something that doesn’t even happen to mid-tier national teams.
“And yet, we, four-time world champions, can no longer qualify. It’s hard to muster the will to repeat, once again, the same old refrains, as trite as they are true. Everything needs to change. We need to rebuild. Someone needs to step back, someone else with new ideas must step forward.”
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