Estonia 1-3 Italy, Gattuso: We must boost confidence for play-offs | OneFootball

Third consecutive victory for the Azzurri: in Tallinn, Italy beats Estonia 3-1 but remains behind Norway. Gattuso: “The important thing is to create lots of chances. The mission is to grow with every match.”

Estonia-Italy 1-3, Gattuso already looking to the playoffs: “We need to improve self-confidence and mechanisms to face them at our best”

Italy wins but Norway remains distant

Italy continues its qualification journey for the 2026 World Cup with a convincing victory, though not enough to fully reopen the race for first place in Group I. In Tallinn, Gennaro Gattuso’s Azzurri overcame Estonia 3-1, moving up to second place but still trailing Norway in goal difference.

This is the third consecutive victory since Gattuso took charge of the Azzurri bench, a sign of steady growth, even if the coach preaches caution and focus ahead of the likely playoffs in March.

“The important thing is to create lots of chances; you can make mistakes, but I thank the boys for their commitment and the work they’re doing,” Gattuso said after the match. “By beating Israel, we could approach the playoffs—which we’ll realistically have to play—with greater peace of mind.”

Gattuso: “The mission is to grow with every match”

The Calabrian coach focused on the process of building a new Azzurri identity, emphasizing that growth is the absolute priority:

“Our mission is to grow match after match, staying together and working. We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel; we know what we have to do. When I see this spirit, you can even make mistakes, but I remain very happy.”

Gattuso then added a tactical analysis:

“We need to improve in self-confidence and mechanisms. You can’t dominate for 95 minutes, but we stayed in the game even during tough moments. Without Donnarumma’s mistake, we wouldn’t have conceded a goal.”

The coach also acknowledged the difficulty of managing back-to-back matches in a short span:

“We always struggle a bit in the second match in a few days, but that’s normal. Now we need to recover our energy because an important match awaits us in Udine.”

Esposito scores his first goal for the Azzurri: “He attacks every ball, he deserves it”

Among the most positive notes of the evening was Pio Esposito’s first goal for the national team, coming on in the second half in place of the injured Kean.

Gattuso praised the young Inter striker:

“Even though it was only his second match, he came on really well. He deserves everything, because he attacks every ball, defends, and runs like a midfielder. He’s a kid who doesn’t lose his head.”

The coach then reassured everyone about Kean’s condition after he came off hurt:

“We’ll assess his condition; hopefully it’s nothing serious because we need him. Pio Esposito gave us a big hand, but we count on everyone.”

Raspadori impresses on the wing, Bastoni suspended for Israel

Among the most convincing performances was that of Giacomo Raspadori, deployed wide in the attacking trio:

“He did very well, as did everyone. These matches give us confidence and allow us to look ahead with optimism.”

However, not everything will be simple for the next match: against Israel, Bastoni will be missing due to suspension. Gattuso will therefore have to rethink something in defense:

“We have several players who can play that role. I’ll consider whether to use a different system. Now we’re just thinking about recovering, also because we’ll arrive in Udine late in the morning.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.