ROME (AP) 鈥 Own goals. Uncharacteristic defensive lapses. General disorder. But lots of attacking flair.
If the idea in hiring to replace the fired was to restore order and discipline to Italy鈥檚 under-pressure squad 鈥 which is still facing the possibility of failing to qualify for a third straight World Cup 鈥 there鈥檚 still plenty of work to be done.
was, Gattuso acknowledged, 鈥渢he craziest game I鈥檝e been involved with as a coach.鈥
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 my fault and not down to the players,鈥 Gattuso added. 鈥淚f we want to play in a certain way, we need to get better at this. We were crazy to systematically go on the attack. That鈥檚 what Israel was waiting for. They hit us on the counter every time.鈥
Italy helped Israel with two own goals for the opponent, and Monday鈥檚 game wasn鈥檛 decided until Sandro Tonali鈥檚 curled winner in stoppage time.
Still, it was a victory and three more points after Italy also scored a handful of goals in Gattuso鈥檚 debut in charge, a 5-0 win over Estonia on Friday.
Italy on course for another playoff
The results meant that Italy leapfrogged Israel into second place in their qualifying group. Norway, which was hosting Moldova on Tuesday, leads the group with a perfect 12 points from four games. Italy is next with nine points from four games followed by Israel with nine points from five games 鈥 trailing on goal differential.
Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year鈥檚 tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs, the stage where Italy was eliminated by and and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.
But at least Italy, which started qualifying with a 3-0 loss at Norway, is now in position to make the playoffs.
Assuming that Erling Haaland鈥檚 Norway continues to cruise, four-time champion Italy needs to be perfect in its remaining qualifiers and vastly improve its goal differential 鈥 the first tiebreaker 鈥 before a likely decisive final group game against Norway at the San Siro in November.
Norway鈥檚 goal differential entering Tuesday鈥檚 game was +11 while Italy鈥檚 was +5.
Calafiori benching questioned
Gattuso was criticized for benching Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori against Israel, with center backs Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni unable to stop Manor Solomon from slaloming his way through the Azzurri defense.
Napoli center back Alessandro Buongiorno was unavailable due to injury, and veteran Francesco Acerbi鈥檚 days with Italy appear done after he turned down a call up for the Norway match under Spalletti.
There were also glaring mistakes from new Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a crazy team, because we鈥檙e too fragile, we concede ridiculous goals too easily,鈥 Gattuso said. 鈥淭he guys know that. But this is my problem, not theirs. My staff and I need to figure out solutions.鈥
Gattuso likened the match to the wild 2005 Champions League final, when the AC Milan team he played for squandered a 3-0 halftime lead and lost to Liverpool in a penalty shootout.
鈥淲e need to learn that these matches are never finished,鈥 Gattuso said.
10 goals in 2 matches
On the positive side, Gattuso has several in-form forwards.
Mateo Retegui scored two goals and provided three assists in two matches; Moise Kean scored three goals and Giacomo Raspadori scored two and assisted on two off the bench.
But reverting to a traditional 4-4-2 featuring both Retegui and Kean left Italy unbalanced.
鈥淣early nobody in modern soccer plays with two strikers, but we鈥檙e sticking with them and we鈥檙e pleased with what they鈥檝e produced 鈥 and not just in terms of goals scored,鈥 Gattuso said.
It marked the first time that Italy 鈥 which has traditionally been known for its defensive tactics 鈥 in consecutive matches.
Gattuso was Tonali’s idol
Another positive takeaway was the growing leadership provided by Tonali, who as a kid modeled his game after Andrea Pirlo and Gattuso.
鈥淚t鈥檚 inspirational for me,鈥 Tonali said, 鈥渢o work with a coach who has always been my reference point.鈥
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