Tribal Football

Capello reflects on Italy win: Pio Esposito superb; Donnarumma must do better

Capello reflects on Italy win: Pio Esposito superb; Donnarumma must do better
Capello reflects on Italy win: Pio Esposito superb; Donnarumma must do betterREUTERS

Former Juventus coach Fabio Capello highlighted two players from last night's World Cup playoff win for Italy against Northern Ireland.

Capello felt Inter Milan youngster Francesco Pio Esposito made a positive impact off the bench in Bergamo.

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He said: "A true player.

"He knows how to protect the ball, lay it off, and head it. (Moise) Kean and (Matteo) Retegui are two similar types of attackers, while Pio can complement both.

"And in fact, we performed better with him on the pitch. Although Kean scored the second goal with a beautiful shot: perfect control and diagonal play."

Asked if Pio Esposito should start against Bosnia, he added: "Of course not.

"I'll just point out that Esposito is an ideal complement to both Retegui and Kean." 

Then on Manchester City goalkeeper Gigio Donnarumma, Capello also stated: "Gigio is one of the best in the world, if not the best goalkeeper in the world. 

"But when he passed the ball to the opposition in the second half, it gave me a shock. Imagine a (Harry) Kane or a (Erling) Haaland in the Northern Ireland striker's place in that situation." 

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