Guglielmo Vicario criticised by national media for ‘clumsy’ Italy performance

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario will come away from the international break with a sense of regret, after making a major mistake in Italy’s win over Israel, and the national media from his home country are not about to let him forget it.

Vicario struggles with set-pieces again

In a rare start for Italy, Guglielmo Vicario very nearly picked up a clean sheet to round out a brilliant night for his country, who sealed a 4-1 win against Israel in the Nations League.

However, Vicario’s night was marred by an error that Tottenham fans will be very familiar with by now, as the shot-stopper failed to deal with a set-piece delivered into his area.

This time, Israel whipped a corner right into the six-yard box and Vicario, being aggressively man-marked by an opponent, was unable to get to the ball and conceded directly from the corner.

Italian media unhappy with error

It is not a mistake that has gone unnoticed by the press, with the match ratings reflecting the fact Vicario could and should have registered a simple clean sheet.

EuroSport gave Vicario a rating of 5.5 out of 10, writing: “Until the 66th minute he is only called to play the ball on the ground, but then the half ‘omelette’ with a red pencil on the corner taken by Abu Fani.

“Sure, Baltaxa prevents him from intervening with a sort of obstruction in the small area, but from a goalkeeper like him you expect more.”

Meanwhile, Sky Italia were slightly more generous, giving Vicario a 6 out of 10, and writing: “If there wasn’t a clear foul against him, we could talk about a clumsy exit on the corner that ends up in. But the obstruction foul, which doesn’t allow him to intervene on the ball, is there. And quite clear.

“Of course, with his hands, Vicario never manages to intervene. Because there are no other shots on goal. A couple graze the post. With Vicario praying and blowing a sigh of relief.”

Vicario needs to draw a line under this

If I was Guglielmo Vicario, I would be looking at this error and the many that have come before it, and recognise the fact that I absolutely need to fix this aspect of my game. I’m sure he is working on commanding his area more, and of course, the referees should be doing more about these incidents, too, but it is becoming a massive concern.

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