'Not as effective' - Arsenal star features in international win surrounded by 10,000-person protest
One of Arsenal’s stars delivered a steady peformance in a comfortable international win.
Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori was in international action on Tuesday night as Italy defeated Israel in a game surrounded by controversy. An estimated 10,000 Italians in the local area protested against Israel over their war on Palestine despite news from the Middle-East of a ceasefire this week.
Only around 10,000 were actually inside the 25,000-seater stadium, with many staying away in protest, and there was mass security in place to ensure the players and the general environment remained safe.
On the pitch, Italy had the opportunity to wrap up at least a play-off spot and keep their hopes of winning the group alive. They did so with a 3-0 win in Udine, Mateo Retegui scored twice, while Gianluca Mancini was also on target.
The win means Italy are six points ahead of Israel in third with two games remaining, but Israel only have one, meaning second place is wrapped up. Italy are three points behind leaders Norway with a far inferior goal difference, but they do still have to play the Scandinavians, meaning the automatic qualification spot is still in play.
In terms of the Israel win, Arsenal star Calafiori played a full 90 minutes as part of the back three and was given a 6/10 for his performance by Football Italia. They reasoned: “Not as effective as usual, especially with the ball at his feet. Lost possession 12 times, more than any other Italian defender tonight.”
Gattuso on a win in tough circumstances
Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso made it clear that the circumstances surrounding the game caused him plenty of concern coming into this one. He said: “Today wasn’t easy for us. I want to thank the police who have done an incredible job in these days.
“Honestly, it wasn’t easy… for many days we were always there thinking that maybe there was the possibility of not playing the match. We came, we prepared for it with an environment that we knew was not a festive environment and we felt that.
“We really played the game we needed to play. We had everything to lose today. We played very, very well. We all remember the match against Israel a month ago. They made us dance and took us for a ride.”
Many had called for Israel to be thrown out of the World Cup qualifiers due to was, but UEFA have resisted making such a decision. With the Middle-Eastern national now eliminated, it’s a decision UEFA or FIFA no longer need to consider.
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