Italy’s media are in agreement over Newcastle star Sandro Tonali’s national team performance

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It was all smiles for some of Newcastle United’s international stars on Tuesday evening – but one player in particular wasn’t overly impressive.

The Magpies’ rise to the elite circles of club football over the past four years has been nothing short of remarkable. Newcastle won the Carabao Cup back in March, which marked their first major trophy in 70 years, as well as qualifying for the Champions League twice and seeing St. James’ Park back at its best again. It’s clear that Eddie Howe has done a magnificent job on Tyneside.

That has seen some outstanding players not only sign but excel for Newcastle, many of whom are international stars for their countries, hoping to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a result.

However, despite their 3-0 win over Israel on Tuesday evening, Italy and Magpies midfielder Sandro Tonali was hardly showered with praise for a poor performance in Udine as the Azzurri all but mathematically qualified for the World Cup play-offs.

Italian media weren’t happy with Sandro Tonali’s Italy performance vs Israel

Despite being one of Italy’s best players on paper, Tonali found it tough to exert his best against Ran Ben Shimon’s side.

A dour first half was saved in stoppage time when Mateo Retegui scored from the penalty spot, and it wasn’t until the striker got on the scoresheet again with 15 minutes to go that Italy would have felt safe in their quest to qualify for the tournament in North America in nine months’ time.

But Tonali wasn’t up to scratch, according to Italian media outlets, who all criticised him for not having an impact on the game. Calciomercato stated that Tonali was ‘subdued’, and ‘under-performed’ in the first half before picking up a booking, marking a torrid night on his behalf with just a 5.5/10 rating.

They wrote: “A subdued and under-performing first half. When you see him infrequently and rarely hear his name, it’s a sign that the former AC Milan player isn’t having a good night. In the second half, he tries to get more involved in the attack, but the Newcastle player isn’t particularly able to shine. He even gets a yellow card towards the end.”

Sky Italy echoed those sentiments. Giving him a 6/10 rating, Tonali’s failure to accustom to the style of play of his national teammates as opposed to the Premier League was named as the reason for his poor showing.

They posted: “He doesn’t lack his usual energy in midfield battles. Accustomed to the Premier League, he’d like to play a lean, vertical style of football. But his teammates often play horizontally, and he’s not the one to speed up the play. Caged.

Eurosport then joined in on the act by also giving Tonali a 5.5/10 rating. They claimed the 29-time cap has had better Italy showings, unable to make an impact from the centre of the park, saying: “Not as good as he had on other occasions. He couldn’t make the impact he’d like in midfield. He was also booked towards the end.”

Newcastle know Tonali has brought strong form to St. James’ Park after helping them to their first trophy in over half a century and will be sure that this performance was a mere blip.

Sandro Tonali’s chances of playing at the World Cup will be shaped by his Newcastle form

Tonali has been all but an ever-present for Italy since he returned from his gambling ban.

Failing to feature at EURO 2024, Tonali came back into the fold at the start of last season and has since played in every possible Italy game.

Of the 14 possible fixtures they have played, he’s only failed to complete three of those, coming in a routine win over Estonia, although he was substituted against Germany in the Nations League quarter-finals in March.

The correlation here is Tonali’s form for the Magpies. Again, he’s featured in every Premier League match, and was only substituted for tactical reasons in Newcastle’s loss to Liverpool in August.

He’s been a massive part of their rise into consistent top-seven finishes, and Tonali has run other Premier League midfielders ragged with his classy performances.

If the former AC Milan talent keeps up his form at St. James’ Park, there is no reason to suggest that he won’t be in the Italy squad come next summer.

However, the Azzurri will likely have to mastermind the treacherous nature of a play-off bout, unless Norway crumble in their qualification group.