Building an Azzurri squad for 2022

Macedona vs. Turkey in the final

 

It's not just the potential difficult task of beating Portugal, but also having to do it on the road. It was the worst two possible outcomes mixed with the best (getting NM at home to start).

 

IMO it's not so much facing Portugal. It's facing them on the road.

But that's why this final portion of this should be two legged. It's silly to have a draw determine who is home.

 

Agreed. This blew right in UEFA's face. Its one thing to have a Italy lose two legs to Sweden four years ago, but this system guarantees that one of your big nations has no chance to advance because you keep tinkering with the qualification process. A bunch of teams also don't get the chance to play at home to qualify for the WC. Just stupid.

 

...oh well France didn't qualify for world cup 94 & 98 and won in 98. Does this mean Italy win in 2026?

 

Yes France won the Euro and the Olympics in 1984 and missed World Cups 1990 and 1994. Then they won at home in 1998. Italy could be in the same boat…

Watching Italian women losing 0-2 to Switzerland right now on Rai in Palermo….

They may miss out too!

 

You think Fifa / Uefa are going to have Ronaldo miss out on his last World Cup. Guaranteed Italy red card in that game within first 20 mins. I’ll requote this when it happens

 

I have a hard time understanding how and why we blame FIFA for our failures. You think FIFA wanted a scenario where a major footballing nation like Italy or Portugal wouldn't partake in the World Cup? Bollocks. Both of us are in this position because we didn't take care of business when we should have. We had an easier qualifying group and couldn't take care of business against the Swiss at home and couldn't score at Northern Ireland with our lives on it. And this is somehow FIFA's fault?

Blame for this lies predominantly with Mancini, who no one wants to throw under the bus given the stellar job he did with this squad leading into and during the Euros. Had we not done that the failure to qualify from this group would have been acknowledged by all as the unmitigated disaster that it was, arguably as bad or worse than under Ventura. There's no question this squad was more talented than his given what they did at the Euros.

Hopefully they wake up in the playoffs, but I don't have a lot of confidence given that we cannot break down mediocre teams defensively. How are we to break down a very defensive Portugal side who has quality players, particularly very good attacking talent?

 

The main problem is Italy can’t score and have no goal scorers on the horizon.

Maybe if they start picking some Italo-Argentines or Italo-Brazilians Oriundi but there are very few of those as well…

 

absolutely not blaming uefa or fifa. its all Jorginho's fault IMO or perhaps Mancini for not designating someone else to take it in the last instance. He hits one of those two rigori and we win the group. I'm just saying if it gets to a one off vs Portugal.. you dont think they will mettle to get their golden boy in Qatar?

 

A coach can't solve a problem that doesn't have any options, blame Mancini and Jorgi all you want but you're still not going to be able to address the actual problem: no strikers worth a damn.

 

we had absolutely no problem scoring leading up to the Euros. We need to be healthy and rested come the playoffs in March. The guys have been burnt out.

 

also.. as dire as it seems. We still have only lost 1 game in the last 3.5 years or whatever its been, and that was to spain in a glorified friendly where we had an early red card.

i'm more worried about the refs / var than i am Portugal. if Spinazzola is healthy.. hes going to tear up Cancelo on the right.. and if not.. Di Marco should be in and he'll have a field day as well. With Ronaldo in the team.. they aren't going to be pressing which is what gives us troubles.

 

As i posted numerous times, during the Euros we were pressing so hard that teams didn't have time to adjust and figure us out, as the tournament went on teams got smarter.

I'm looking forward to March, hopefully you're right and everyone is just burned out but that's no excuse because other countries are dealing with the same thing and they were able to get results needed to qualify.

 

Well, another perfect example of UEFA screwing over Italy and Portugal. This was not a coincidence. They never liked either one of us.

 

I mean it's a bit of both. We didn't take care of business so in that regard we deserve what we get.

That being said, the playoff process by UEFA is completely stupid.

To have a final determined by one leg where a draw determines who the home team is, that's completely asinine. There is no reason why UEFA should have this set up.

 

100%. hypothetically if Italy beats Macedonia and Turkey flukes out vs Portugal. Why should the Turks have the home game against us?

 

They shouldn't. It makes absolutely no sense.

 

So Mancini is a genius when he wins the Euros with the same squad, but he's blameless when he doesn't navigate this side through an easy qualifying group? The logic doesn't add up. He managed this side brilliantly in the Euros--he's done horribly not to figure out how to get the most talented side in this group through qualifiers in first place.

 

Perhaps FIFA could have set up the competition in a way that makes more sense, but we knew the scenario going in; which is why it was critical to win the group.

 

To my understanding, the Turks won't be the home team if they are lucky and we are to face them . It's not much consolation facing them instead of Portugal , even should we play at home. They did quite well in their respective group. .

Basically according to the way I understood it , only after the semis and the teams left , is home to be determined according to the rankings of the teams left for the final.

If Turkey , then home

If Portugal away I think as they had the better rankings when the qualifiers first started.

Getting ahead though , we may screw up against Alexander the great and his Macedonian Army

 

Mancini needs to wake up from the Euros. Firstly by picking Florenzi against Bulgaria and then not changing PK taker. If you couldn't win Bulgaria, Swiss and NI to qualify, how do you expect the same team to beat Portugal in the playoffs?

 

i dont buy the easy qualifying group. gotta give some more respect to the Swiss. They have been playing good football. Should we have come first.. absolutely.. but by no means was this an easy group.

 

Also I agree , this format is gay. And it does greatly increase the likelihood better recogized nations will not be in the WC . Which is certainly NOT in Fifas best interest. I guess they were too short sighted thinking about the money and ratings from the Nations League and this gimmick of the playoff format

The probability to correct any mistakes is greatly diminished over the course of 1 game , as opposed to 2. Thereby ( usually ) favoring the better team over 2 . Easier flukes happen in 1 game knock outs. Hence why the old playoff format was over 2 games home and away.

Then there is aspect of balance , why should any team only play in the other teams barn during qualifiers in a one off ? There is no impartiality , no balance.

Precisely the reason why a team from Group A got their turn at home and then the team from Group B got their turn over 2 legs. Most balanced way to resolve the situation.

 

Horrible.

Fifa will do everything in their power to make sure Cristiano makes it.