Zaza eager to make up for Euro embarrassment
- Matthew Klimberg
Few can forget his penalty attempt against Germany in the quarter-finals. Antonio Conte had brought him on specifically to take a penalty, but his series of short, staccato steps before launching the ball over the net became the stuff memes are made of.
The best replay of Zaza's penalty run up pic.twitter.com/tEi9ONhJnc
— Deji Faremi (@deejayfaremi) July 2, 2016
Now, a year-and-a-half later, Zaza will have a chance to repair his reputation when Italy takes on Sweden in their two-legged World Cup playoff. In scintillating form for Valencia, he may have the opportunity to start for Gian Piero Ventura as Andrea Belotti continues to work his way back to match fitness.#ITA practising penalties #Zaza https://t.co/smb83YmbUt
— Tommo (@LUFC1992) July 2, 2016
Though such a fate seems unlikely, should both teams go to a shootout, it will be very interesting to see how Zaza might approach it…if he’s even give the opportunity to do so.
UPDATE: An injury during training Thursday has put his status in doubt.