Why Tottenham's Sandro Tonali send shivers down the spine of Italy in draw vs France

Tottenham's new signings have yet to hit the ground running and Sandro Tonali's display against France has continued that.

The Italian national team is looking to bounce back and rebuild itself, and the Tottenham midfielder looks to be central to those plans.

After failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the Italians certainly needed something to change, and Tonali will be looking to new manager Roberto Mancini to take him to the next level.

And in the Nations League, the four-time World Cup winners had quite the test as they took on recent semi-finalists France.

It was not going to be an easy fixture for Tonali, who has not been at his best this season so far.

The Italian media are now reacting to how he got on against Zinedine Zidane's side.

How did the Italian media rate Sandro Tonali against France?

Tonali and Italy managed to avoid defeat against France with help of a goal by Alessandro Bastoni in a 1-1 draw.

However, it will be a game that the Tottenham man won't remember much of or look back on too fondly.

While Tonali was not poor against the 2026 World Cup semi-finalists, he was far from convincing either.

Sky Sports Italia has awarded him a 6/10 for his display, noting: "He starts off with a slow, short lateral pass that could have triggered the explosive pass for Olise, who instead stumbles and passes.

"However, he then regains grit and strength in his legs, which he puts to use in the midfield barrage. He doesn't have Pirlo's intuition, but he holds up the midfield with solidity and geometry."

Meanwhile, Corriere Dello Sport have agreed with that 6/10 assessment pointing out one moment where Tonali almost slipped up.

They refer to a situation where Tonali was "overly casual" with a clearance, allowing France to produce a situation that gave them "shivers."

However, they also point out that the Spurs man was able to "limit" Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, adding some positivity to the overall display.

Why Tonali faced an all-too-familiar problem for Italy

Tonali's duel-winning for Tottenham has been hit or miss in the last few Premier League fixtures.

In the last three games, he has averaged just a 58 per cent success rate in his duels, as per FotMob.

With success rates of 55, 33 and 88 per cent.

Against France, things were worse on the poor side of the spectrum as he won just two of five ground duels - a 40 per cent success.

Additionally, he committed three fouls against France, with no other player having more.

Passing-wise, Tonali was strong, ending his performance with a 94 per cent success rate.

However, after starting all three Nations League games so far, the midfielder was handed an early rest by being taken off in the 62nd minute.

Roberto De Zerbi will at least take solace that his fellow compatriot was not involved in another 90 minute game.