Former Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has told senior members of the Italy squad to step up ahead of the Nations League clash against Turkiye. Gli Azzurri fell to a 2-0 home loss against Belgium on Friday.
Tonali played the full 90 minutes of that match, though he was questioned by the Italian media for his performance in the game. Both Tonali and Italy are looking to bounce back from the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup. Their last competitive game before the defeat against Belgium was a penalty shootout loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final.
Tonali calls on experienced players
The midfielder has now made an admission about the Italy squad. He has called upon himself and his teammates to step up.
"I feel good, I've recovered 100 per cent," Tonali said. "We didn't play well on Friday and we deserved to lose.
"It's up to us more experienced players to shoulder the difficult moments and allow the younger ones to play with freedom and to grow. We don't have that one star who can change a game in ten seconds, so we have to work step by step."
He added: "This is a very healthy, very young group, and you can't expect everything straight away. We still have plenty of matches to play together and we need to keep working to become even more of a team. Our quality will come through."
Tough start at Tottenham
It's not just on the international stage where Tonali is struggling so far this season. Since completing the £100 million move from Newcastle to Tottenham Hotspur, Tonali is yet to taste victory for his new club having been left out of the squad for the team's only win of the season in the Carabao Cup against Championship side Charlton Athletic.
The 26-year-old has started every Premier League game but of those five matches so far, Spurs have lost three and drawn two. They scored their first goals of the season in the most recent 3-2 loss vs Aston Villa.
It leaves the club sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table for the first international break of the season. Tonali is among the players to be criticised, but he has been backed by manager Roberto De Zerbi.
"He's a good guy, he's working very hard and I'm happy to have Sandro," he said. "We are lucky to have Sandro with us. The adaptation has not been so fast but it can happen, also in Milan in the first season, ok he was younger, but it is not so easy to change city, to change everything for the players. Sometimes the adaptation is immediate, sometimes you need more time."
