Tonali on Italy: ‘We don’t have a star player but our qualities will come out with time’

ROME, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 25: Sandro Tonali of Italy compete for the ball with Dodi Lukebakio during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Belgium at Stadio Olimpico on September 25, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi/Getty Images)

Sandro Tonali has acknowledged the scale of the disappointment after Italy’s defeat to Belgium, but asked for patience with a squad that has barely played together.

With quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, the midfielder spoke to Sky Sport Italia on the eve of Monday’s trip to Turkiye.

“I think a lot of people were left disappointed. We have to be honest and talk about what this defeat brought, from the whistles of the fans to the sad faces in the dressing room,” he said. “But you have to accept it, because the game was not a positive one and we deserved to lose.”

His argument is that this is just a new group rather than an underperforming one. Mancini named nine uncapped players in his squad, and the average age of the XI that started at the Olimpico was 23.

“The important thing now is to react, and we can do that within a few days. The group is very healthy, with a lot of young players. Having everything immediately is difficult, we don’t have the star player,” Tonali said. “Time is there, we have to spend time together, work and enjoy ourselves together. We are healthy, strong men. With time our qualities will come out.”

Tonali is having a difficult season on both fronts. Tottenham have two points from five Premier League games and were beaten 3-2 at home by Aston Villa last weekend, with the midfielder withdrawn on 84 minutes after fading badly.

He does not see the two situations as comparable.

“Football is very strange. In ten days everything can change from negative to positive. On Tottenham: the moment is negative for results but positive for the football we are playing. We play well, we create, and if you don’t score in football you lose, but we are not buried. We are alive, positive. Here with the national team it is different: it is a very new and young group, a group that has never played together. We just have to take our time.”