Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario returned to his hometown of Udine to make his Italy debut in their Nations League clash with Israel, but conceded a howler directly from the corner flag in the 4-1 victory.
The Azzurri dominated the visitors on Monday night thanks to goals from Mateo Retegui, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and Davide Frattesi, but lost their clean sheet after a big mistake from Vicario in goal.
The Spurs shot-stopper was powerless to prevent Mohammad Abu Fani’s curled effort from going in directly from the corner in the second half, resulting in a national team debut to forget after replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma for the contest.
After the game, Vicario complained he was obstructed by Matan Baltaxa, who successfully blocked him within the rules, as the referee and VAR judged it to be fair pressure.
Italian media have been less than kind about Vicario’s senior debut for Italy, with Eurosport awarding him a 5.5/10 rating for his display on Monday, suggesting that fans should ‘expect more’ from a goalkeeper of his calibre.
Former France defender Frank Leboeuf was also surprised at how Vicario was unable to react before conceding directly from a corner kick, branding the situation ‘crazy’ while speaking on ESPN:
“It was crazy to see. Push the guy, I don’t know, go over him, go in front of him, do something with your hands. Push him. Exist. He doesn’t exist. That’s crazy.
“I have never seen that in my life. That’s an enigma for me, the way the guy is incapable of reacting one against one.”
Vicario struggled in set-piece situations throughout his first season in north London, where he conceded 61 goals in 38 appearances in his debut campaign in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old vowed to improve on the matter after the North London derby against Arsenal, when he conceded from a set-piece once again, after Gabriel headed in the only goal of the contest.
While Tottenham have been more solid in set-pieces this season, Vicario’s latest mistake representing Italy highlighted the lingering concerns regarding the Udine-born shot-stopper.