Gennaro Gattuso says Italy's 5-4 World Cup qualifying win over Israel was the "craziest game" he's had as a coach.
Italy beat Israel 5-4Manager Gattuso in disbeliefCalls it his "craziest game"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Italy held leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 4-2 but Israel clawed their way back to 4-4 in a thrilling World Cup qualifier on Monday night. The hosts thought they had secured an excellent point but Sandro Tonali's 91st-minute winner secured the Italians a remarkable victory – one that manager Gattuso was astounded by.
AdvertisementgettyWHAT GATTUSO SAID
He said, "It was murder today. It’s the craziest game I’ve been involved with as a coach, but it is my problem and not that of the players. If we want to play in a certain way, we need to get better at this. We were crazy to systematically go on the attack, that’s what Israel were waiting for, they hit us on the counter every time. We could’ve defended deeper when leading."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
This result gives Italy's World Cup qualification chances a huge boost as they have leapfrogged Israel into second in Group I. They are still three points off group leaders Norway, which puts them in pole position to advance to the play-offs. Not qualifying for two straight World Cups would be a disaster for Italy.
GettyWHAT NEXT?
Gattuso's Italy side, who have three wins and one loss so far, are next in World Cup qualifying action on October 11 when they travel to Estonia. They then round off the next international break at home to Israel three days later.