Italy – Northern Ireland: Tonali’s Strike Beats Northern Ireland Low Block (2-0)

Italy had plenty of possession in the first half of this game against a 5-4-1 low block from Northern Ireland but struggled to create chances with their right-side attack and rotations. Eventually, Sandro Tonali’s half-volley from the edge of the box put them ahead though, and it was comfortable for the Italians after that, with Moise Kean sealing things with a second goal late on.

Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

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Italy are fighting to ensure they don’t repeat the events of 2018 and 2022 in which they failed to qualify for the World Cup. The four-time winners of the tournament faced Northern Ireland in Bergamo in this World Cup Qualification play-off, with the winner going on to advance to a final play-off game against the winner of Wales versus Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gennaro Gattuso lined his side up in a 3-5-2 shape for this game, with Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Bastoni, and Riccardo Calafiori in the back three. Manuel Locatelli was the deepest midfielder in a central three, with Nicolò Barella and Sandro Tonali ahead of him. Matteo Politano and Federico Dimarco were the wing-backs, while Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui played up front.

Northern Ireland meanwhile started in a 3-4-3 formation, with Trai Hume, Paddy McNair, and Ruairi McConville in as center-backs, flanked by Terry Devlin and Brodie Spencer as wing-backs. Shea Charles and Ethan Galbraith partnered in central midfield, while the front three comprised Justin Devenny, Jamie Donley, and Isaac Price.

Italy favour the right

The first half was mostly dominated by Italy in terms of possession, although they were not able to turn this high possession share into chances. It was a relatively comfortable half for Northern Ireland who sat back in a zonal 5-4-1 low or mid-low block.

When Italy had the ball, Locatelli would often drop from his nominal number six position into a right center-back position alongside Bastoni, while Mancini would move wider into a right back position. Calafiori would usually do similar on the left.

Italy’s established possession shape in the first half.

Politano held the width as wing-back, and could do this from a higher position, or by coming into a lower position on the touchline. This was accompanied by Barella’s positioning in the right halfspace which was usually quite advanced, with plenty of diagonal runs ahead of Politano trying to get into the channels between Northern Ireland’s backline. Mancini would also make runs forward from deep on this side.

A favoured move of Italy was to play the ball into the feet of Politano, who, being left-footed, could try to whip the ball into the frontline or in behind the opposition defensive line with his first touch. Similarly, he could also lay the ball inside to a midfielder who would then attempt a similar ball over the top.

Locatelli’s dropping into the backline emptied the number six space for Italy. Sometimes Tonali would drop into this space in order to provide balance, but sometimes they would also just leave the space empty, which reduced their ability to play centrally, making them more dependent on the right-sided route.

Much of Italy’s progressive passing went down the right.

On the left side, Dimarco provided the width, but attacks down this side were slightly less common. Calafiori could sometimes provide underlaps into the left halfspace, while Tonali’s positioning was varied – sometimes getting involved deeper, and sometimes in higher positions similar to Barella’s in the other halfspace.

Once Italy worked the ball down the wings, they mostly tried to swing high crosses into the box which would be attacked by the two strikers and at least two of Dimarco, Barella, and Tonali. It was a challenge to meet these cleanly against the three center-backs of Northern Ireland though, and Italy had few other routes to penetrate in the final third, meaning that they created relatively few chances.

Tonali breaks the deadlock

Italy finally got their breakthrough ten minutes after half time. On this occasion, another Politano cross from the right was met first by a Northern Irish defender. However, his headed clearance only reached as far as Tonali on the edge of the box, who fizzed a sweet half-volleyed shot past goalkeeper Pierce Charles.

Italy’s possession structure also changed somewhat in the second half. Instead of dropping into the backline, Locatelli stayed more as the central number six, and Italy kept to a back three in the first line of buildup. Barella also started from lower positions, dropping into the second line more often, trying to offer an option on the outside of the Northern Ireland midfield unit.

Italy’s adjusted possession shape in the second half – a more conventional 3-5-2 structure.

With Italy now in a back three, it was simpler for Northern Ireland to pressure their backline man for man with their front three. They were able to move higher up the pitch and Italy had different situations to solve compared to the first half. In some ways Italy actually benefited from their opponents playing higher, as it gave them more space to hit behind the defensive line which they had wanted to do in the first half but were limited by Northern Ireland playing deeper.

Gattuso was the first coach to make changes just after the hour mark, replacing Bastoni and Retegui with Federico Gatti and Sebastiano Esposito. Italy’s possession share decreased going into the later stages of the game, as Northern Ireland tried to mount a fightback. Italy were spending more time in their 5-3-2 defensive block, which they had rarely done until this point in the game.

In the end though, Italy were the ones who found the decisive second goal. Tonali was involved again, as his looping pass found Kean in the box, who took the ball down skillfully and placed a low finish beyond the reach of the goalkeeper, securing Italy’s place in the final stage of the play-offs.

Takeaways

Italy dominated the ball in the first half but struggled to create clear chances against a low block. They were also slightly reliant on the right side for progression. Once they got their goal though, it was smooth sailing for Gattuso’s side. They will now face Bosnia & Herzegovina for a place in World Cup Group B.

It was always going to be an uphill task for Northern Ireland to go to Bergamo and get a result against the Italians. They defended well in their zonal 5-4-1 system in the first half, but once they conceded there was no sign of a route back into the game.  

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