Gianfranco Zola was left seriously impressed with Tottenham Hotspur full-back Destiny Udogie’s display against England last night.
The 20-year-old was handed his first start for Italy as Luciano Spalletti’s men fell to a 3-1 defeat at Wembley.
The Azzurri took the lead in the 15th minute and Udogie played a key role in the build-up to the goal. Udogie worked his way out of trouble as England pressed high up the pitch and produced a surging run to help Italy turn defence into attack.
The youngster faced off against Manchester City’s Phil Foden on the night but he more than held how own before being replaced just after the hour mark.
And Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola was particularly impressed with the full-back’s display.
Zola impressed by Udogie’s display vs England
Speaking on Channel 4 at half-time, Zola highlighted Udogie’s role in Italy’s opener and lauded his first-half performance.
The pundit said: “It reminded me of what Spalletti said, he said before the match on the interview: ‘we need to be brave with the ball. We need to control the possession and play like that, with freedom’.
“And you can see here, Donnarumma could’ve kicked the ball [long], he didn’t do that despite the pressure. They came out with very passing. And I have to say Udogie was fantastic and they built up a good action.
He added: “As I said before, I thought Udogie was fantastic, he was very good.”
Udogie had his evening cut short in the end as Spalletti opted to bring on Federico Dimarco after the youngster picked up a booking in the first half.
Nevertheless, it was yet another encouraging display from the former Udinese full-back as he continues his promising start to the season.
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