Bulgaria vs. Italy: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier
Italy travelled to Sofia, Bulgaria, on Saturday, taking on the Bulgarians in their latest qualifying match for Euro 2016. The Azzurri went into the game—played at the Vasil Levski National Stadium—with some notable absentees and in the midst of yet more controversy.
Gigi Buffon pulled out of consideration for selection just hours before the game due to flu symptoms, per Football Italia. The side had already been rocked by the loss of Claudio Marchisio, who was feared to have torn his right anterior cruciate ligament in Friday’s training session. Juventus later confirmed he did not tear his ACL, and per ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell, the 29-year-old could be back in action within a few days.
Perhaps those external factors took their toll, as Antonio Conte’s side laboured for much of the game. They did eventually salvage a 2-2 draw, however, preserving the coach’s unbeaten start in international football.
Let's take a brief look at the winners and losers from the two sides.
Winner: Eder
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Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini openly questioned Antonio Conte’s decision to call up the Brazilian-born Eder—as well as Franco Vazquez of Palermo—in the buildup to the game.
“The Italian national team must be Italian,” the Inter boss insisted to reporters Monday. “Those who aren’t born in Italy but have distant relatives shouldn’t be called-up, that’s my opinion.”
The Sampdoria striker responded in the best possible fashion. With just seven minutes remaining and Italy trailing 2-1, Eder collected a pass from Giorgio Chiellini with his back to goal. Turning and firing a superb shot, the 28-year-old marked his debut with an excellently taken goal, showing all the quality that has seen him net 12 goals this season for the Blucerchiati.
His performance arguably makes him a favourite to start against England on Tuesday, with both Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza having turned in hugely disappointing displays.
Loser: Ciro Immobile
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Already out of sorts for Borussia Dortmund, Ciro Immobile’s poor club form continued onto the international stage. The former Torino and Pescara striker has netted just three league goals since his summer move to Germany and looked woefully short of confidence against Bulgaria.
Squandering the few opportunities created for him, the 25-year-old was embarrassingly booked for diving with just under 10 minutes in the game remaining. According to WhoScored.com, Immobile had five shots—two more than any other player on the pitch—yet never came close to scoring.
Winner: Marco Verratti
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Heading into the match, much had been made of Marco Verratti’s failure to establish a regular place in the Italy XI. However, with Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo joining Marchisio on the sidelines, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was given a richly deserved start against Bulgaria.
The 22-year-old made that decision look wise by turning in a superb performance. Only Giorgio Chiellini (112) had more touches than Verratti (103), who made 85 passes over the 90 minutes, according to WhoScored.com.
He completed 87.1 percent of those attempts and also made four interceptions and three tackles, both of which were team highs on the night.
Winner: Ivelin Popov
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Ivelin Popov was perhaps the standout performer for Bulgaria on Saturday, proving to be a constant thorn in the side of the Azzurri.
The Kuban Krasnodar winger's battle with Matteo Darmian figured to be the key battle in this match, but he played more centrally, and the Italy defence had little answer to the speed of his probing runs from deep.
Having registered five goals and three assists in the Russian Premier League this season, Popov opened the scoring after just 11 minutes. The 27-year-old netted his first international goal since he struck against Armenia back in October 2013.
