Leeds United star Wilfried Gnonto was substituted at half-time of Italy U21s’ 7-0 win over San Marino.
The young Azzurri took another step closer to qualifying for next summer’s European Championships with Gnonto the second Leeds player to represent their respective country over this international break.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet, it would appear Gnonto produced a stellar performance in the 45 minutes he spent on the pitch.
He completed an incredible seven of eight attempted dribbles and won nine of his 13 duels, both really impressive statistics for someone who was only on for one half of football.
However, the fact Gnonto was withdrawn at the break will have no doubt left Leeds fans feeling slightly worried that it was injury related.
Italy U21s boss Carmine Nunziata hands Leeds a Gnonto boost
Coming up against San Marino, Gnonto and the rest of his Italy U21s teammates were the subject of a couple of rough challenges.
The international minnows had four players booked on the night, one of which came for Alberto Riccardi as a result of raking his studs down the back of Gnonto’s Achilles in the 37th minute.
In the first half, Italy lost both Jacapo Fazzini and Tommaso Baldanzi to injury and so Gnonto’s substitution means manager Carmine Nunziata used three of his changes before the second half had even kicked off.
However, Leeds’ fears that Gnonto’s withdrawal was due to injury have been significantly eased by a post-match interview with Corriere dello Sport from Nunziata.
He mentioned that the only disappointments on the night came as a result of the injuries to Fazzini and Baldanzi, meaning it would appear Gnonto came out unscathed.
He said: “We are happy with the victory and for not having received cards with the players who are cautioned, the only disappointment is the physical problems of Fazzini and Baldanzi who we hope to recover.”
Leeds star Gnonto likely saved for Norway clash
With the game all but wrapped up at 2-0, it looks as though Nunziata was simply saving Gnonto’s fitness for their second match of the break.
Italy U21s make the trip to Norway on Tuesday evening in what is their penultimate game of qualifying, which could effectively decide whether they top the group or not.
Norway are currently second and three points behind Italy and know a win would see them go above Gnonto’s side on the virtue of head-to-head, which is the first deciding factor if two teams are tied on points. They also have a game in hand.
Defeat would be pretty catastrophic for Italy as it would also hand Ireland the chance to overtake them in the group, too. They are five adrift with two games in hand, at the time of writing.
With all that in mind, it is no surprise to see that Italy decided to wrap the Leeds star up in cotton wool ahead of such a big match.
Leave a Reply