Italy player ratings vs Argentina | Nations Champion 2026

Italy player ratings: Italy huffed and puffed but ultimately came up short in Genoa, falling 19-14 to Argentina despite making the brighter start and leading for much of an attritional first half. Gonzalo Quesada’s side looked a different beast to the one dismantled by South Africa a week earlier, but they failed to fully capitalise on a period of dominance and paid the price as Los Pumas gradually tightened the screw after the break.

Still, there were plenty of positives, not least an outstanding display from Manuel Zuliani, while Italy’s scrum and lineout stood up well against heavyweight opposition.

15. Tommaso Allan – 7
Back for his 93rd Italy cap and brought a reassuring sense of calm after last week’s brainrot against the Springboks. Converted Ioane’s excellent early try from the touchline and was generally reliable under the high ball. Spilled one awkward take early on but survived a forward pass check and later missed a speculative effort from beyond 50 metres. His experience showed whenever Italy were under pressure.

14. Ange Capuozzo – 5
One of those afternoons where the ball simply never found him often enough. Made one encouraging carry in the first half but was then pinged for holding on. Caught napping by Mateo Carreras and bundled into touch, while his influence remained limited throughout. A good late chase nearly forced an Argentina error but it was a subdued outing by his standards.

13. Paolo Odogwu – 6.5
The powerful centre brought plenty of edge. Produced a crunching shot on Lucio Cinti early in the contest and consistently got over the gainline. Penalised after a head-on-head collision but generally won the physical match-up. A solid return in a game where midfield collisions were relentless.

Fixture

Nations Championship

Italy

14 - 19

Full-time

Argentina

All Stats and Data

12. Leonardo Marin – 8
Italy’s most influential back. His perfectly weighted grubber put Monty Ioane over in the corner after just four minutes and he followed that up with an excellent interception after reading Argentina’s attack superbly. Looked assured whenever he touched the ball and was arguably Italy’s best distributor all afternoon.

11. Monty Ioane – 8.5
A constant menace. Finished brilliantly after Marin’s kick for Italy’s only conventional try and remained dangerous even when opportunities dried up. Argentina did a much better job containing him after the opening exchanges, but he still managed another thunderous break after the restart that had Genoa briefly believing again.

10. Paolo Garbisi – 4
Plenty of arm waving, shouting and gesticulating in true Italian fashion, but opportunities to pull the strings were frustratingly limited. Never really managed to dictate proceedings as Argentina’s defence squeezed the life out of Italy’s attack. Missing touch with the last kick of the game was criminal, not least as he did the same last week against the Boks. The reaciton of his teammates said it all.

9. Stephen Varney – 6
Starting in place of Alessandro Fusco, Varney produced a tidy enough display behind a pack that spent large portions of the game under pressure. Kept the tempo up whenever possible and generally delivered decent service. There was little more he could realistically do.

1. Danilo Fischetti – 7
Made an excellent tackle in open play inside the opening ten minutes and was heavily involved in a scrum that caused Argentina repeated headaches. Combined effectively with Ferrari as Italy consistently generated pressure at the set-piece during the first half.

2. Giacomo Nicotera – 6
A mixed afternoon for the captain. Penalised for offside and spilled possession approaching the half-hour mark. Worked tirelessly around the park and remained committed throughout, but lacked the impact of some of his pack mates. Must take some of blame for the clown-car lineouts.

3. Simone Ferrari – 8
Outstanding at scrum time against a massive Argentina front-row. Played a major role in the pressure that earned Italy an early penalty and continued to disrupt throughout. Also produced a monstrous hit on 139kg Joel Sclavi that brought a huge roar from the crowd. It was one of several dominant hits.

4. Niccolò Cannone – 7
Got through plenty of unseen work and was heavily involved physically. Maybe the heart and soul of this Azzurri pack, even if he’s doesn’t always grab the limelight.

5. Federico Ruzza – 7.5
Italy’s go-to lineout option and one of their most dependable forwards. Pinched an important Argentine throw in the first half and never stopped competing. Kept fighting right until the final whistle and was arguably Italy’s most important set-piece operator.

6. Ross Vintcent – 6.5
A strange performance. The Exeter Chiefs back-rower endured a rough opening period, conceding three penalties and offering little with ball in hand. But credit where it’s due, he turned things around after the interval. Produced some ferocious tackles, shut down an Argentina attack with a huge defensive effort and tackled his guts out like a dog until the end.

Possession

6%

13%

16%

3%

8%

17%

27%

11%

57%

Possession Last 10 min

43%

37%

Possession

63%

7. Manuel Zuliani – 9
Simply immense. Produced turnover after turnover to drag Italy out of trouble, with two huge steals inside his own 22 in the opening quarter alone. Added a big carry, landed a thumping tackle, pinched more ball after the break and was a constant nuisance at the breakdown. A genuine menace from start to finish and comfortably Italy’s best player.

8. Lorenzo Cannone – 7
Worked hard in tight exchanges and came up with a massive jackal turnover on 50 minutes when Italy were under severe pressure. An industrious display that mixed carrying, defence and breakdown work. Unlucky not to be credited with a try on 65 minutes after driving over, with the officials instead awarding a penalty try.

Replacements – 5.5
The bench certainly brought energy, although not always the right kind. Gianmarco Lucchesi’s overthrow on 71 minutes halted one promising attack, while Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi was yellow carded shortly after entering the action for cumulative team offences. Federico Mori, back in the matchday squad after more than two years away, carried hard and tried to use his 108kg frame to melt defenders during a late Italian push. The effort was there, but the overall impact was limited as Argentina closed out the win.