Italy national team manager Roberto Mancini has been told he'll 'regret' not starting Leeds United star Wilfried Gnonto after he impressed the Italian media for his short 20-minute appearance in last night's EURO 2024 qualifying 2-1 loss to England.
Two first-half goals for the Three Lions courtesy of Declan Rice and Harry Kane were enough to secure the first win in Italy for Gareth Southgate's side since 1961.
That was despite a Luke Shaw red card and an early goal in the second half from Italian striker Mateo Retegui which kept England on the back foot for a majority of the second half.
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While Gnonto couldn't have the game-changing impact over the last 20 minutes like he would've been hoping for, he still created numerous chances and got involved down the left-hand side enough to warrant plaudits from the Italian media.
The 19-year-old earned a 6.5 rating from Sky Sports Italy, the joint-highest across the entire team, as they wrote: "Lively and enterprising, he tries to sprint and puts some interesting balls in from the left."
La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that "Gnonto and the substitutes did well," while Corriere della Sera also gave Gnonto a 6.5 rating claiming he gave "positive signs" with his "in the end his ball in the middle almost always manages to put it".
Calciomercato handed Gnonto a 6.0 rating out of 10 for his appearance, saying that "the tandem with Spinazzola [down the left] works," and that "various interesting situations are created on this axis".
Tuttosport wrote he gave Mancini's side "a boost of adrenaline and unpredictability" while Goal Italia argued that Mancini will regret not starting the Leeds youngster, who received a 6.5 rating, as they wrote: "Gusts and crosses which, in Mancini, some regrets about the choice of the starting 11 will certainly bring to the surface".
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