Guglielmo Vicario picked up a rare start for Italy on Monday night, but the Spurs keeper made a big mistake that is symptomatic of one of his biggest weaknesses.
Set-piece problems for Vicario again
Since joining Tottenham last summer, Guglielmo Vicario has begun to make great strides in his career at international level. He made his debut for the Azzurri in March of this year, went to Euro 2024 with his country, and is consistently in the matchday squads under Luciano Spalletti.
During this international break, the Spurs stopper was given the starting spot ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma for the Nations League tie against Israel on Monday.
While Italy won the game 4-1, there was one big moment of real concern for Vicario, who again struggled to deal with a set-piece delivery into his box.
With Israel preparing to take a corner, Vicario was seen pushing defender Matan Baltaxa away, with the Hapoel Be’er Sheva player standing right on the keeper’s feet and causing problems in the six-yard box.
Mohammad Abu Fani then floated in the corner, Vicario was outmuscled and unable to deal with the delivery, and the ball ended up in the back of the net.
You can watch a clip of the incident here, thanks to ViaPlay.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Same old issue
This exact scenario has now occurred multiple times for Vicario while he has been in goal for Spurs, and is clearly a weakness opponents are taking advantage of.
The pattern emerged in the back half of last season, when teams like Everton and Arsenal began aggressively man-marking the keeper at set-pieces, forcing him into errors that often lead to goals.
Spurs may look to replace Vicario
If this issue is not resolved this season, Tottenham will have to look for a new goalkeeper next summer. While Vicario is brilliant at shot-stopping and pretty effective in his distribution, this inability to command his box will cost us dearly.