With Italy바카라™s worst soccer moment on many people바카라™s minds, coach Roberto Mancini is not thinking about the unthinkable but about winning the World Cup in Qatar. (More Football News)
Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 edition. Missing two straight FIFA World Cups would be an unprecedented low for the four-time champions.
With Italy바카라™s worst soccer moment on many people바카라™s minds, coach Roberto Mancini is not thinking about the unthinkable but about winning the World Cup in Qatar. (More Football News)
Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament. Missing two straight World Cups would be an unprecedented low point for the four-time champion, especially less than a year after winning the European Championship.
And, just like for the 2018 World Cup, it has to endure the playoffs. Italy faces North Macedonia in Palermo, Sicily, on Thursday, with the winner playing either Cristiano Ronaldo바카라™s Portugal or Turkey for a spot at the tournament in Qatar later this year.
바카라śOur aim is to win the World Cup. In order to do so, we need to win these two games,바카라ť Mancini said. 바카라śIt바카라™s only others thinking about scenario B, the negative outcome. I바카라™m thinking only of scenario A. And let바카라™s hope it바카라™s A.
바카라śWe have to be positive because we are talking about soccer and especially because we can draw from solid foundations.바카라ť
Italy started the qualifiers with three straight wins but then began to stumble and a disappointing draw at home to Bulgaria, less than two months after winning Euro 2020, saw Mancini바카라™s team lose its perfect start to World Cup qualifying.
A draw in Northern Ireland in the final round saw Switzerland beat the Azzurri to the top spot in their group and consign them to the prospect of reliving their playoff nightmare.
바카라śWe shouldn바카라™t be here but soccer is also made up of these things,바카라ť Mancini said. 바카라śWe are human, it can happen and certain feelings can remain, it바카라™s only natural to think about last time. But the feelings from July are much more recent, we need to start from there.
바카라śI am confident because I know I have good players who built a victory from nothing, that of the European Championship, which nobody believed in. And it was fully deserved. Confidence has to start from that: it won바카라™t guarantee us going to the World Cup but it can only be a solid base, knowing that we have a squad with important qualities.바카라ť
However, Italy will not be able to draw on its most solid of foundations as the defense that starred in its Euro 2020 success will have to be changed. Leonardo Spinazzola and Giovanni Di Lorenzo are out injured and veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are both a doubt for the first match at least.
But it has its core, triumphant midfield of Marco Verratti, Nicolò Barella and Jorginho.
Verratti missed out on the second leg of the playoff against Sweden in November 2017 through suspension. And, while the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder admits the pain of failing to qualify is still fresh in the players바카라™ minds, he says that needs to drive them on to ensure it doesn바카라™t happen again.
바카라śThere바카라™s a different atmosphere than there was for that Sweden game,바카라ť the 29-year-old Verratti said. 바카라śThe tough times stay with you forever and certain defeats teach you to give that little bit extra.
바카라śWe바카라™re used to playing with this sort of pressure and we know how important this is. We cannot miss out on the World Cup. We just need to work hard, give it everything and do what needs to be done. The opposition will have the game of their lives, so we need to do the same.바카라ť