A moment from Italy’s World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden has gone viral, as Lorenzo Insigne tried to explain to teammates why he was in midfield.
The 1-0 loss in Solna means there is the very real risk the Azzurri will fail to qualify for their first World Cup since 1958.
There is a second leg to be played on Monday evening at Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
A moment from Italy’s World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden has gone viral, as Lorenzo Insigne tried to explain to teammates why he was in midfield.
The 1-0 loss in Solna means there is the very real risk the Azzurri will fail to qualify for their first World Cup since 1958.
There is a second leg to be played on Monday evening at Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
While Giampiero Ventura’s 3-5-2 tactics came under fire in the media, there was an even more controversial decision that hit the headlines.
When on-form Napoli winger Insigne came off the bench to replace Marco Verratti, it was assumed by fans, reporters – and his own teammates – that it was a return to the 4-2-4 system.
Instead, as confirmed later by Insigne, he was asked by Ventura to simply fill in the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder’s central midfield role.
The moment he explained this to his teammates went viral, as there is video of Insigne walking into Verratti’s midfield spot and mouthing to the other players: “In the middle.”
He then shrugs with evident resignation, as if to say he doesn’t understand it either, and says: "Yeah."
It was a particularly bizarre choice considering Napoli midfielder Jorginho was still on the bench.
As Verratti is suspended for the second leg, it remains to be seen who will replace him for the Azzurri at San Siro.
L'imbarazzo e l'incredulità di #Insigne nel confermare che avrebbe giocato al centro al posto di Verratti.
"AL CENTRO! SI !"#SveziaItalia pic.twitter.com/mKo5JUBlka
— Vittorio de Gaetano (@VdeGaet) November 10, 2017