Tottenham Hotspur defender Destiny Udogie started for Italy in their defeat to Germany in the Nations League.
The 22-year-old is an immensely talented footballer. He became a fan favourite at Spurs in his first few months at the club last season and is still adored there.
Udogie has earned 10 senior caps for Italy as well, the latest of which ended in defeat against Germany at the San Siro on Thursday night.
The Tottenham defender, sadly for him, did not do enough.
Italian media react to Destiny Udogie’s performance vs Germany
Udogie has had an injury-hit campaign.
After missing the end of last season and Euro 2024 due to a hamstring issue, Udogie was made to play almost every single game for Tottenham until the end of December.
That took its toll, and the Italian suffered another hamstring injury, which kept him out for about a month.
After starting three of Spurs’ last four games in the Premier League, Udogie joined up with his international teammates and was given a start against Germany.
The young defender wasn’t awful by any means, but he failed to show the world that he deserves to play ahead of the brilliant Federico Dimarco.
CalcioMercato wrote about Udogie: “He covers the flank less diligently than Politano, and Spalletti often calls him back. He wasn’t having a great evening but he came close to scoring the 2-1 with a header.”
FC Inter 1908 added: “Udogie does little to avoid regrets over the absence of Federico Dimarco. The gap between him and the Inter wing-back is clear, especially in this type of system.”
Corriere della Serra said: “Replacing Dimarco is not easy, but Udogie is a bit shy in pushing and is not always reactive in coverage.”
All three Italian outlets gave Udogie a rating of 5.5/10.
Destiny Udogie’s stats vs Germany
Udogie wouldn’t be too happy with his performance.
The Italian often impresses in attack in Ange Postecoglou’s system at Tottenham, but Luciano Spalletti’s style of play has not been easy for him.
His numbers show that.
| Stat | Destiny Udogie vs Germany |
| Touches | 72 |
| Passes | 35 out of 46 |
| Passing accuracy | 76 per cent |
| Possession lost | 18 |
| Dribble success rate | 40 per cent (2 out of 5) |
| Duels won | 6 out of 12 |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Crosses completed | 0 |
Udogie is capable of a lot more and he will know that.
The Italian should be doing a lot better than having a 40-per cent dribble success rate. His pace should help him get past players much more often.
If he gets a chance against Germany on Sunday, he will have to fare better to have any chance of becoming a regular starter for the Azzurri.
