A successful October for Sandro Tonali and Italy.
Two games, two wins and six goals scored by the World Cup candidates.
On Saturday, Sandro Tonali had displayed a masterful man of the match performance as Italy won 3-1 against Estonia, with the Newcastle United midfielder completing the whole game.
Last (Tuesday) evening it was a home victory over Israel, a 3-0 victory that keeps alive Italy’s hopes of overtaking Norway in the final two rounds of the World Cup qualifying group matches in November.
Retegui scored twice and Mancini added the third in extra time.
Sandro Tonali played his part and only came off in the 93rd minute after receiving a late booking in the 88th minute.
However, the Newcastle United star failed to reach the heights of Saturday’s performance and the Italian media issued a warning after last night’s match.
Football Italia signs Sandro Tonali judgement of only 6 out of 10 for his actions against Israel and adding…
‘The Newcastle star, one of the best Italian players under Gattuso, was not as sharp as usual. Definitely a bit tired considering I’ve played thirteen times already this season.’
Sandro Tonali has featured in all four of Italy’s World Cup qualifiers in September and October, as well as all seven of Newcastle’s Premier League matches and their two Champions League matches. The thing is also that he is rarely eliminated from matches. The only substitution he has made so far this season was in the Carabao Cup win over Bradford.
This is where things really get difficult for Eddie Howe when it comes to balancing things. Under the club’s crazy stop-start schedule, this final international fortnight is followed by seven Newcastle United games in a three-week period, before Sandro Tonali has to win two more in the final World Cup qualifiers in Moldova and finally at home in Norway.
This tight NUFC schedule restarts on Saturday with a Premier League match away at Brighton and just three days later it is home to Benfica in the Champions League.
What Eddie Howe does now with his players, especially those who play for both their country and United, is a difficult decision. You want to have your best players on the field as much as possible, but at the same time you don’t expose them to a significantly higher risk of injury by overplaying them…
This is the October 2025 international fixture list for Newcastle United players:
Thursday October 9
England 3 Wales 0
Anthony Gordon with an excellent first half, as did most of his teammates. England took a 3-0 lead after just twenty minutes and as the match progressed they cruised to victory making numerous substitutions. Gordon is the only one of the front six to play the full game, while Dan Burn is an unused sub.
Friday October 10
South Korea 0 Brazil 5
A world-class assist from Bruno Guimaraes saw Estevao score the opener in this friendly. Joelinton remained on the bench for the entire match and Bruno dropped out after 79 minutes.
Sinnyy 4 LUXEMBOURG 0
An excellent team performance with Nick Woltemade in the lead for Germany.
The Newcastle United striker didn’t score himself but led the line so well, with his link-up play and all-round play helping to secure an impressive victory in this World Cup group qualifier.
Sweden 0 Switzerland 2
Anthony Elanga from Newcastle watches from the bench as the must-win group qualifier for the World Cup ended in defeat.
Sweden now has virtually no chance of appearing in the 2026 final.
With three group matches left to play, Sweden is eight points behind Switzerland.
Saturday October 11
Estonia 1 Italy 3
Sandro Tonali officiated this World Cup qualifying match and was named man of the match by the Italian media and Football Italia, which perfectly sums up his brilliant performance…
‘Italy had some strong players tonight, but the Newcastle United man was in a class of his own today. Harking back to the iconic Italian centre-mids of yesteryear, the 25-year-old showed his class tonight.’
Monday October 13
Northern Ireland 0 Germany 1
What a moment for Nick Woltemade to score his first goal for Germany in this World Cup group qualifier. The only goal of the match when the Newcastle United striker reaches the highest point in the 31st minute and heads in (‘slight’ suspicion that it came from his shoulder…). A tough night in Belfast, a real battle, but Germany are now so strong at the top of the group with only two games left to play. Only the group winners automatically qualify for the 2026 final. Nick Woltemade worked a 92-minute shift and only dropped out in the final seconds.
Sweden 0 Kosovo 1
An embarrassing home defeat for Sweden and left bottom of the table with one point after four games and only two games left to play. Anthony Elanga was on the bench for this World Cup qualifier and watched as Sweden trailed 1-0 at half-time, although it could have been 2-0 if Kosovo also hit the post. Elanga was one of three substitutions on the break and he brought Sweden to life late on, with a series of quality crosses, but Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak squandered chance after chance.
Tuesday October 14th
Japan 3 Brazil 2
A brilliant pass from Bruno Guimaraes set up the opening goal, but somehow Brazil lost this friendly after leading 2-0. Bruno was replaced by NUFC teammate Joelinton after 57 minutes as part of a three-way substitution as Brazil led 2–1. A defensive nightmare from those at the back for all three Japanese goals. Joelinton almost rescued a draw in the final seconds but his effort from outside the penalty area saved into the top corner.
Latvia 0 England 5
Anthony Gordon steered England to the 2026 World Cup final, scoring the opening goal in a demolition job that sees England top their group with two games to play. England are the first European team to qualify for the 2026 finals. Kane got the second and third goals before half-time with an own goal and a late goal from Eze completing the scoring. Rashford replaced Gordon with twenty minutes to go and at the same time Stones went off and Dan Burn grabbed another cap.
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