'We can't' - Sandro Tonali insists what Newcastle United must not do in 2025-26 - fans will love it

By winning the Carabao Cup almost two months ago, Newcastle secured European football for the 2025-26 campaign.

The winners of the Carabao Cup are rewarded with a spot in the Conference League qualification round.

But for Newcastle, it wasn’t viewed as a reward as such but rather a potential consolation as they quickly set their ambitions higher. The message after Newcastle ended their 70-year trophy drought was to back it up by qualifying for the Champions League rather than the Conference League or Europa League.

And so far so good for The Magpies as they sit third in the Premier League table with two games to go and needing just one more win to ensure Champions League qualification.

Newcastle’s 2-0 win over Chelsea at St James’ Park on Sunday moved them three points inside the Champions League places with a far superior goal difference to Aston Villa in sixth. The Magpies face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday before hosting Everton at St James’ Park on the final day of the season.

Sandro Tonali states Newcastle United ambitions

Sandro Tonali has played a key role in Newcastle’s cup win and Champions League charge this season, scoring the opening goal in the win over Chelsea last time out.

The Italian joined Newcastle in 2023 after reaching the Champions League semi-final with AC Milan. Tonali featured for Newcastle in the Champions League before being hit with a 10-month betting ban as the side exited Europe and failed to qualify for any European competition last season.

With two games left to play, Tonali and his teammates are laser-focused on securing a top-five finish, even going as far as dismissing the Conference League spot they earned through winning the Carabao Cup.

“We need to think just game for game,” Tonali told the club. “And not in the last game or the last two games. But we need to play every game.

“And we need to think only for one game every week. We want to play the next season in the Champions League 100%.

“We won the Carabao Cup, we are already qualified for the Conference League, but we can't play in the Conference League.

“Because these fans deserve the Champions League. This team deserves the Champions League and every player here. The staff, every person in Newcastle deserves the Champions League.”

Sandro Tonali reflects on Carabao Cup win for Newcastle United

The 2024-25 campaign is already cemented as Newcastle’s best campaign of the modern era for ending a 70-year domestic trophy drought. Following the Wembley Stadium celebrations and an international break, Tonali returned to Newcastle to take part in the Carabao Cup celebration parade in the city which was estimated to be attended by around 300,000 people across the bus parade and Town Moor event.

“It was crazy,” Tonali said on the cup win. “Crazy because we played every game in the Carabao Cup to win this trophy. Every game after Brentford we played with the best team to win the game.

“The final was amazing. The warm-up was amazing. The fans were amazing and I was in a dream because for these people after 70 years, [it’s] a lot of time.”

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