Italy vs Estonia match review, 1:45 a.m. September 6: Gattuso's first victory

VHO - Commentary on the match between Italy and Estonia, 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Italy entered the match against Estonia with the pressure of having to win to keep their hopes of participating in the 2026 World Cup alive. This was also the debut of new coach Gattuso, who was expected to breathe new life into the "Blue Army".

Italy vs Estonia form

Italy are going through a stormy qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup. In their opening match, the Azzurri were crushed 3-0 by direct rivals Norway on their trip to Northern Europe.

That disastrous defeat dealt a heavy blow to the confidence and hope of participating in the biggest football festival on the planet of the "Blue Army".

The 2-0 victory over Moldova a few days later certainly could not ease the worries of fans of the team from the country shaped like a boot.

Italy is currently ranked 3rd in Group I, 9 and 3 points behind Norway and Israel respectively. Perhaps due to a poor start, combined with a poor performance in the UEFA Nations League before, coach Luciano Spalletti received a dismissal notice.

The match against Estonia will be the debut match of new coach Gennaro Gattuso. The Italian Football Federation hopes that the 47-year-old's strong personality will help ignite the fire of determination in his players, thereby helping the Azzurri overcome the difficult period.

If they fail to qualify for North America next summer, the pain will be even worse for the Italian team. They will miss the World Cup for the third consecutive year, becoming the darkest stretch in their history.

To avoid that disastrous scenario, Italy needs a win in Bergamo in the early morning of September 6 ( Hanoi time). In all aspects, the home team has a very bright chance of getting all 3 points. After all, the visitors and Moldova are the two lowest-rated teams in Group I.

Coach Gattuso's task promises to be very heavy.

Italy have won all three of their most recent encounters with their Northern European opponents. In the two most recent encounters with Estonia, the home team won by a huge margin, 3-0 and 4-0. In a situation where they desperately need points to at least climb to second place (to qualify for the play-offs), victory has become the only option for Gattuso and his team.

Compared to the home team, Estonia has played more than double the number of matches in Group I. However, the team under the direction of coach Jurgen Henn has only earned 3 points thanks to a hard-fought 3-2 victory in Moldova.

In the remaining 3 appearances, Estonia lost to Israel (2 times) and Norway. The results did not bring any surprises because Sinisargid (Estonia's nickname) did not have the potential to compete for one of the two leading positions.

Italy vs Estonia squad information

Italy: Destiny Udogie, Samuele Ricci and Lorenzo Lucca were not called up.

Estonia: Captain Karol Mets is absent due to injury.

Expected lineup Italy vs Estonia

Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Bastoni, Dimarco; Barella, Locatelli, Tonali; Politano, Kean, Zaccagni

Estonia: Hein; Tur, Kuusk, Paskotsi, Saliste; Shein, Soomets; Yakovlev, Kait, Sinyavskiy; Sappinen

Prediction: 2-0

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/nhan-dinh-tran-dau-italia-vs-estonia-1h45-ngay-69-chien-cong-dau-cua-gattuso-166100.html