missed the game .. oh boy... oh well going through is all that matters. he clearly experimented but France really wanted that scoreline. 0-0 would have been a nice statement.
I'm not sifting through the thread. If someone can please asnwer my quesiton. What does this loss mean for Italy?
I thought a goalkeeper of Gigio's size and quality would have saved the direct free kick on which they scored. We are also used to Gigio making saves that most other keepers would not make.
It was good to know that if we don’t finish 1st or 2nd in our qualifying group we would have a playoff spot regardless. However I can’t see us finishing 3rd or worse.
I don't get it. Why can't anyone answer? What is the point of all this back and forth? Jut answer a simple quesiton! Che cavolo significa questa sconfitta?
No. Far greater implications here. A much easier QF opponent (Spain Germany above all) and no having a backdoor should Qualifiers get bungled.
You've been given page and post number twice. Vieri #9 has answered your question as well. Next tournament you will ask the same question.
I still don't understand. Anyway, I'm not asking you. So if you don’t want to answer a simple question, let someone else respond in laymans terms!
If I had to choose I would say Portugal, then Germany and in no case Spain. Spain is the only team I really want to avoid.
One thing for sure he wouldn't have been so far to his left. Great placement but still, IMO no need to overplay it. Maybe ex GK Azzurrifan87 can have input on this one.
Germany only because Italy have done well against them historically but Germany are in unbelievable form these days.
Positive results: 1. We are top seeds for the World Cup qualifying draw. 2. We qualified to Nation League quarter finals. Negative things: 1. We won’t have a backdoor playoff spot in case we don’t finish 1st or 2nd in our qualifying group. 2. We have to play a very strong team in the Nations League quarter finals.
Ok but what does this mean? if Italy won they would still have to qualify through a group phase so it makes no sense. I mean either way , they still have to play WCQ matches.
Yes, but say we get 3rd or lower in our WC quals group. If we got 1 more goal today, in that situation, we would go to straight to playoffs no matter what. Now if we get 3rd (or perhaps one of the lower 2nd place teams), we are OUT for a 3rd straight World Cup. Does that make sense now?
In 40 years since I’ve followed the Italian national team in Euro or WC qualifying matches, I’ve never seen Italy play and qualify with easy matches. If anything , if history repeats itself , they play worse against lesser opponents than they do against top teams. Therefore , I’m not worried about this Nations League because if they can’t qualify for a third consecutive WC tournament , then the FIGC deserves it and maybe they will finally change their structures and mentality when it comes to the national team.
We literally missed the last 2 World Cups bc we failed in those playoffs. If we won our group today, we get an automatic birth to those same playoffs if we dont do well in the quals. Now no matter what, we cant f up in those quals.
Georgia and their 2024 Euro Qualifiers was a great example. IIRC they finished in 4th or even 5th in the Group Stage of Qualifiers. But a guarantee Playoff matched them up with Greece which they won. As such, qualified to Euro'24.
Yeah, but who did Italy lost to? Sweden and Macedonia? Two crap team! Give me a break! So I don't foresee any easy games or teams for that matter.