U21 EURO: France 2-1 Italy Player Ratings – Tonali’s assist, Udogie and ref’s errors

France 2-1 Italy: Player ratings

Click here for the match report

Carnesecchi 6.5 – Two excellent saves on Thuram and Badé. Nothing he could do to avoid France’s goals.

Okoli 5.5 – Was up to the task physically, but France’s strikers sometimes managed to find space on his side.

Pirola 6.5 – By far Italy’s best defender in the back three. Always in the right place at the right time with at least two key interceptions (75′ Cancellieri 5.5 – Proved his quality with some nice touches, but missed an open goal.)

Scalvini 5 – Received a naive yellow card for protests in the first half and struggled to cope with France’s strikers.

Bellanova 6.5 – Ran up and down the right flank, crosses were not too dangerous, but he was always there. He even scored the equaliser but the referee didn’t see the ball had crossed the line.

Rovella 6.5 – Italy’s No.10 played more as a No.8, but was often effective. (75′ Miretti 6 – Came close to scoring from a free kick.)

Ricci 5.5 – A little bit hidden in the middle of the park. Had sparks of class, but it was mostly a defensive performance. (88′ Colombo N/G)

Tonali 6.5 – All eyes were on the Azzurrini captain on his last night as a Milan player. Tonali was not too involved in the opening stages, but showed all his personality and stamina during the 90 minutes, delivering the assist for Pellegri’s equaliser.

Udogie 4 – Didn’t track back when France scored the opener and incredibly gave away the second goal to Les Blues. An even bigger error than the one made by the referee who didn’t see a foul on Okoli in the build-up. (88′ Parisi N/G)

Cambiaghi 5 – Could have made wiser use of spaces, didn’t touch the ball much. No surprise he was subbed off during the break. (46 Gnonto 5.5 – Forced Badé to a red card, but overall he could have created more in the final third.)

Pellegri 6.5 – Scored the equaliser in the first half and held up the ball giving France’s defence a hard time.

Coach: Nicolato 6.5 – All subs made sense and improved the squad on the pitch. It wasn’t enough.

France U21: Chevalier 7; Kalulu 5.5, Badé 5, Lukeba 5.5, Nkounkou 6; Koné 6.5 (85’ Simakan), Caqueret 6, K Thuram 6.5 (64 Cherki 6); Barcola 6.5 (64 Olise 5.5), Kalimuendo 7 (78’ Wahi N/G); Gouiri (78’ Adli N/G)

Referee: Allard Lindhout 3 – Lack of VAR didn’t help, but you don’t need a screen to see the foul on Okoli which led to France’s winner. Italy should have also been given a penalty in the second half for a handball. The Azzurrini literally scored a goal in the final minutes but neither he nor his assistant saw the ball had crossed the line.