Gattuso: ‘Important thing is for Italy to keep creating chances’

Gennaro Gattuso insists ‘the important thing is to create chances’ after Italy beat Estonia 3-1, with his sights set firmly on the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

It was a strong start in Estonia, as Moise Kean opened the scoring within five minutes, but then limped off with a sprained right ankle.

Mateo Retegui saw a penalty saved, only to make up for it by netting the second on an assist from Riccardo Orsolini.

Francesco Pio Esposito got his historic first senior goal for Italy at the age of 20, but Gianluigi Donnarumma fumbled an easy cross to gift Estonia a goal for the 3-1 result.

“The important thing is to create the chances. You can miss them and see penalties saved too, but the important thing is to get those opportunities,” Gattuso told RAI Sport.

Alessandro Bastoni was booked and will therefore be suspended for Tuesday’s crucial head-to-head with Israel in Udine.

“We must continue like this, recover, because our history suggests we always struggle more in the second game. We have a lot at stake, as if we win, then Israel are out of the running, and we can prepare for the play-offs with more calm.”