Those few Italy fans who hoped to see Italy flying to Qatar in November had to surrender early as FIFA executive member Evelina Christillin said the idea of bringing the Azzurri into the World Cup is ‘utopia.’
There were reports that FIFA would take action after Iran barred women from entering the stadium for their World Cup qualifier against Lebanon. “We never discussed excluding them from the World Cup,” said Christillin. “Even if they were, it would be another Asian side that was promoted in their place.”
Not only Jorginho’s penalty kicks: the errors that led to Italy’s World Cup fiasco
It would be great to see the Azzurri defending their European champions status in Qatar, but that won’t be the case. And rightly so. Roberto Mancini’s men had many chances to take their spot at the World Cup. Jorginho will be infamously remembered as the man who fluffed two penalty kicks against Switzerland despite having a perfect record from the spot with Chelsea this season. But many other mistakes led to the Azzurri’s shock. From Alessandro Florenzi’s defensive error against Bulgaria in the first match after the Euros, to Domenico Berardi’s open-goal miss against North Macedonia.
Everyone is to be blamed, even Roberto Mancini, who perhaps showed too much gratitude towards the players who had helped him win the Euros. The team needed something different in some crucial areas of the pitch. If the European Championship has taught us something, it is that form of footballers is a crucial factor. Way too many Azzurri have not been at their best lately and perhaps should have been replaced, at least against North Macedonia.
However, what the coach achieved in the summer can’t be underestimated or just considered a lucky shot. Italian football is in a far better place than four years ago, when Gian Piero Ventura lost against Sweden, missing out on Russia 2018. There are more young and emerging talents now as well as young and exciting coaches in Serie A. Italian football wasn’t perfect nine months ago and is not rotted now. There were errors on the pitch that have been paid dearly. Perhaps, as Leonardo Bonucci said, the qualification system is not totally fair, as Italy lost just one game during their path, while some South American teams will play in Qatar regardless of their six or seven defeats. However, he also admitted that Italy have no excuses and should have done better, learning a lesson for the future. Now, that’s all Italian football must focus on, as seeing the Azzurri at the World Cup is just an unfair dream.