Giorginho misses the penalty of victory, Monday’s match will be decisive for the qualification
SENT TO ROME. The penalty kicked by Jorginho a few seconds from the end could have been the cornerstone of qualifying for the World Cup. But the Chelsea midfielder got himself hypnotized by Sommer and got it wrong. The discussion remains open. Now we need to win in Ireland on Monday to win the group and be sure of going to Qatar. The Swiss coach, Yakin, tried to make the ghosts of Sweden reappear on the eve, when Italy failed to qualify for the world championship. And those ghosts hovered over an Olympic stadium for a while with cheers for choreography and thrust. Roberto Mancini instead dampened the tension, transmitted serenity to the blues but the response on the pitch was not, if not treated, what the coach expected. Italy has not secured the first place and everything remains open with a game still to be played. Injuries and bad thoughts, worries, everything took a back seat when Di Lorenzo put in the 1-1 ball. But if Italy did not bring home the victory, the credit is also due to Switzerland, which despite being full of patches played an intelligent, shrewd game, often putting the Italians to the whip. The blue one was not the usual sparkling team, many, too many mistakes. Mancini will have to work in these days to present a perky line-up in Belfast in a match without appeal.
The “Rooster” is back. In the end Mancini is on the safe side and chooses Belotti to replace Immobile. Nothing fake nueve. The rest of the formation is the one announced. Unripe in place of the injured Chellini, Locatelli for Verratti to complete the three-man midfield. Jorginho is the director, Barella on the right. Insigne and Chiesa the “arrows” on the lanes. Switzerland, as well as the Azzurri, have many offside players. Not even Gavranovic is on the field. The leader is Shaqiri, an experience in Italy that is not exactly unforgettable.
Pressure. The elevetics start as expected: they play very high, they go to take Italy in their half of the field, they prevent Mancini’s team from thinking with continuous doubling. The movement of the ball is slow, staid, it is difficult to give depth to the maneuver. The Swiss sprint start is rewarded with Widmer’s goal that freezes the Olimpico. On the occasion Acerbi is too soft in Okafor’s marking. The punch in the stomach is so strong that Italy risks even more times. The “reds” close all the passing lines, restart with Okafor and Steffan who seem impregnable. The first signal comes from Barella who misses a few steps by shooting at the goalkeeper.
Awakening. The audience pushes because they see the blues a little in awe. The draw arrives on an inactive ball: Di Lorenzo anticipates Sommer’s exit and puts it in. The var control confirms the goal. Now Italy is more relaxed, more confident in playing. He has regained that tranquility that he lacked in the first 25 ‘. Mancini asked for more exchanges in speed, more insertions without the ball and the team began to play the music they like best.
Mancini changes. The coach realizes that his team is slow, so he decides to remove a dead Belotti by inserting Berardi. Outside also Locatelli (impalpable) and space in Tonali. Insigne becomes the central point and thus returns to the false nueve, a forced solution given the absences. Church on the left. The idea is to exploit the speed of the “little ones” against a static defense but always well positioned. Berardi immediately gets to the heart of the game, gives vivacity to the games, is constantly sought by his teammates. Outside also Barella, tired and imprecise, inside Cristante. The finish is all colored in blue. The audience pushes. Garcia, appema entered from a shoulder in the Berardi area. Penalty (the var recalled the referee who goes to see the images) that Jorginho misses by kicking him high. It ends in a draw. All postponed to Monday in Belfast, a game that Italy will have to win to avoid the playoff nightmare.