Gennaro Gattuso’s convincing debut because the Italy head coach proved that Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui can complement one another, whereas Sandro Tonali underlined his standing as the perfect central midfielder within the nation.
Italy secured a 5-0 win over Estonia on Gattuso’s debut as head coach: listed here are 5 issues we discovered from the sport on Friday.
Commercial
Strikers
It was the primary time that Retegui and Kean performed collectively, and the result was past spectacular. The ex-Atalanta striker completed the sport with 9 complete pictures whereas Kean recorded 5. Most significantly, Retegui scored two objectives and offered one help,, the place his former followers acclaimed him. Clearly, Estonia are removed from being near the perfect groups on the continent, but Gattuso’s attacking enjoying fashion suited the Azzurri effectively, in a recreation which the Azzurri needed to win, scoring as many objectives as attainable. Predictably, Gattuso will choose two centre forwards once more in a few of the subsequent video games, however it might not be shocking to see him select an additional central midfielder within the upcoming assembly with Israel, one other must-win for the Azzurri, who at the moment
BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Sandro Tonali of Italy in motion challenges for the ball with Kevor Palumets of Estonia throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Picture by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Photographs)
Commercial
Tonali
An all-round efficiency for the Newcastle midfielder who made 5 key passes, had a 91% passing accuracy and gained 5 floor duels from six (by way of ). A yr on from his return to motion, the previous Milan star is now stamping his authority as the perfect midfielder within the nation. Towards Estonia, the place he lined up alongside Inter’s Nicolò Barella, Tonali regarded the sharper of the 2. Barella delivered a strong show, however couldn’t catch the standard, stamina and resilience proven by the Newcastle man. Tonali can both play as a Regista or a box-to-box midfielder for the Azzurri, as his high quality on the ball is at the moment unrivalled in Italian soccer.
BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Alessandro Bastoni of Italy celebrates with teammates after scoring his workforce’s fifth objective throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Picture by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Photographs)
Commercial
Defence
Gattuso in his first press convention throughout the worldwide break, so seeing Italy line up with a four-man defence wasn’t actually shocking. Nevertheless, Riccardo Calafiori performed on the left-hand aspect of the central defence, and whereas the Arsenal defender’s ahead runs contributed to pushing Estonia inside their very own half, Bastoni’s long-range passes generally caught the Azzurri opponents off-guard, giving Gattuso two extra additional choices within the build-up when the center of the park was too crowded. With Alessandro Buongiorno not even known as up due to his health and Giovanni Leoni watching from the stands, it’s truthful to say that the Azzurri have sufficient depth – and high quality – of their ranks and dealing alongside Gattuso’s assistant Leonardo Bonucci will solely profit the Italy defenders, notably when it comes to composure and distribution on the ball.