Sandro Tonali admitted that “it would mean a lot” for Italy to beat Norway on Sunday, even if they cannot secure direct World Cup qualification, while he is “emotional” about his return AC Milan.
The Azzurri knew before they took to the pitch in Moldova that the result was largely futile, as Norway had beaten Estonia 4-1 and with a far superior goal difference, top the group.
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Perhaps this affected the attitude of the Italian players, who lost enthusiasm as the game progressed with exploited early chances. It wasn’t until the 88th minute that Gianluca Mancini’s diving header ensured the breakthrough, followed by Francesco Pio Esposito who nodded in the 2-0 injury time that was also the result.
“It wasn’t easy, but that’s how modern football is. We also knew that Norway had won, so it was a bit of a strange atmosphere,” Tonali told Sky Sport Italia.
“There were also a lot of changes, and that made it quite difficult to fully concentrate, but we took three points, and that’s what we needed right now, to keep winning. We played a little bit worse than before, but we have to look at the big picture and the overall progress.”
“It’s easy to judge from the outside, but you have to experience it and know that at the end of the day, the result counted more for us than for the World Cup qualification.”
While it may be impossible to turn around goal difference and take top spot, Italy will still enjoy beating Norway on Sunday and finishing with the same number of points, having been humiliated 3-0 back in June under former national team boss Luciano Spalletti.
“It would mean a lot to us, because it may not heal the wound, but it will help us move forward and finish this group with a highlight. We reacted after Oslo, a game where we had big problems, so we faced all the waves of attacks that came at us,” Tonali confirmed.
“This is football, it’s joy when you win and terrible when you lose, so you have to endure the blows when you deserve them.”
Gennaro Gattuso has already said that Tonali will not be risked against Norway on Sunday at the San Siro, because he is one yellow card away from suspension, and they cannot risk losing him for the playoff semi-finals.
On top of that, it will also see the former AC Milan midfielder return to the Milanello training centre, where Italy will prepare for the match.
“It’s emotional. The last time was almost three years ago. It’s a place that’s close to my heart and every time I go back to Milan will be emotional for me. It’s not the first time, but it will always feel like the second, it will always be amazing,” the Newcastle star smiled.
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