Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou will be worried by what happened to Destiny Udogie with Italy
Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie was not at his best as Italy beat Venezuela 2-1 on Thursday (21 March).
Udogie has had a fine season in North London, breaking into the Tottenham first-team under Ange Postecoglou during his debut campaign in the Premier League.
He has been one of Spurs’ most consistent performers, scoring twice and providing three assists from his inverted full-back role across his 24 appearances in England’s top flight.
His impressive form has been noticed, with the 21-year-old now being rewarded on the international stage.
After making his debut for Italy earlier this season, Udogie was handed a start and completed 90 minutes against Venezuela on Thursday night.
Despite a victory for the Azzurri, the left-back would have left the pitch feeling rather demotivated after he made a crucial mistake in the contest’s opening exchanges.
With just two minutes on the clock, Udogie was caught in possession which led to Italy giving away a penalty, although the Spurs man’s blushes were spared as Solomon Rondon‘s spot kick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Reflecting on his performance, Sky Italia awarded Udogie a 5.5 match rating, writing (22 March), “He is involved in the chaos that leads to the penalty for Venezuela after two minutes.
“And the mistake stains the performance, which would otherwise be appreciable for its strength and spirit of initiative.”
Tottenham star Destiny Udogie must show mental resilience after mistake for Italy
No player likes to make a mistake at any level, although this was just a friendly, and Udogie must quickly move on and put the setback behind him.
It is fair to say that it wasn’t his finest night defensively, with the Italian winning just four of his nine ground duels, making two fouls, and giving possession away 10 times (Sofascore).
He also managed to complete just one of his three dribble attempts, an underwhelming total considering the quality of the opposition.
Nonetheless, there were still positives for Udogie to take away from his performance, and this is what he must try and focus on.
His ability going forward couldn’t be faulted as he completed 95 per cent of his passes, 100 per cent of his long balls forward and 100 per cent of the crosses he played into the box.
There is therefore certainly no need for alarm bells at Hotspur Way based on this one performance and mistake, although after Udogie’s lacklustre display in the 3-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage (16 March), Postecoglou will be desperate for the player to rediscover his confidence again.
Udogie was all over the place against Marco Silva’s side, winning just 40 per cent of his ground duels, losing his one aerial duel and being dribbled past three times.
In addition, he only managed to complete 81 per cent of his passes and was unsuccessful with the one long ball forward which he attempted.
After what has been a difficult two games for Udogie, he will be keen to ensure this doesn’t become a habit and will look to get back on track when Italy take on Ecuador on Sunday (24 March).
In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy is on a collision course with Gareth Southgate as he searches for a lucrative payday at Spurs.
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