'I liked Udogie like crazy' - Pundit raves about the performance of Tottenham LB despite Italy's loss to England

The director of TMW Radio Marco Piccari has praised Super Eagles-eligible defender Destiny Udogie for his performance during Italy's 2024 European Championship qualifier against England at Wembley on Tuesday, October 17.

Udogie was in action for 63 minutes as the four-time champions were beaten 3-1 by the Three Lions.

The Tottenham Hotspur marauding fullback made his senior debut off the bench against Malta last Saturday before he was handed his full debut by manager Luciano Spalletti against Gareth Southgate's team.

Udogie was involved in the build-up to Gianluca Scamacca's first-ever goal for Italy when he received the ball deep in his half and exchanged passes with Nicolo Barella on a 60-yard burst upfield. 

Scamacca, the former West Ham striker, tapped home a cross from Giovanni Di Lorenzo to open the scoring in the 15th minute. 

Udogie came close to scoring his first international goal on the stroke of halftime but was denied by Jordan Pickford who pushed away his effort.

In quotes relayed by Tuttomercatoweb, Piccari said : " We came to this match not at the best from an environmental point of view but we saw desire and character. You took a risk but you had to do it like this.

"I liked Udogie like crazy, he's growing a lot. I saw myself in him a strong full-back from some time ago. Berardi very well."

Udogie was walking a disciplinary tightrope after he was booked in the tenth minute for a cynical pull on Phil Foden, which contributed to the decision of the Italy coach to replace him in the second half.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: figc.it

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