Italy will earn €3m for playing Turkey in possibly the most insensitive friendly match ever next week.
Both teams failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar are losing in equally painful fashions in their play-off matches. Turkey lost after talismanic forward Burak Yilmaz missed the chance to score an equaliser with 85th minute penalty, blasting the ball over the bar. The Azzurri fell to a last minute winner after failing to take advantage of their dominance in Palermo.
As highlighted by Corriere dello Sport, the friendly between Turkey and Italy is completely useless from a sporting perspective following the loss to North Macedonia, but it is important for the FIGC.
The Italian FA will now have to face the economic realities of failing too qualify for the World Cup, so an extra €3m is useful at this point, even if no Azzurri fan is interested in the result.