Italy is ready to play its chances for qualification for the World Cup. That qualification that just escaped in the last round of the group stage (in favor of Switzerland). That same qualification that, precisely in the world playoffs, the Azzurri let slip by losing to Sweden in the double challenge.
While doing the necessary exorcisms, it is also important to be optimistic: this time we certainly start with a completely different awareness than four years ago when Italian football was in a deep technical crisis. This time the Azzurri come from the victory of a European Championship which has been missing for decades and which confirmed that, when it comes to football, Italy is among the big names in the world. But what's new compared to the semi-finals and play-off finals that will be in about two months?
Church out - a heavy loss
It goes without saying that striker Federico Chiesa's injury is terrible news for Italy and for coach Roberto Mancini. The lack of Church it brings not only a lowering of the technical quality in the forward department, but also the absence of a dressing room leader, well liked by his teammates. Unfortunately, the certain exclusion of Chiesa is not only related to the playoff matches, but probably also to the World Cup as the type of injury he suffered requires a long rehabilitation. In fact, the Juventus striker suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury and for him we are talking about the season over. The injury occurred during a clash in Roma-Juventus with the Capitoline defender, Smalling. A contrast that unfortunately Chiesa (and, indirectly, Juventus and Italy, have paid dearly).
Vaccine problem: many vaccinated with Sputnik
In the last few hours there has been a problem regarding vaccines in view of Italy-North Macedonia. It seems that many of the Macedonian team are vaccinated with it Sputnik and there would also be several players not vaccinated. The World Cup playoff on March 26 becomes a problem. As La Repubblica also reports, Fifa seems to have two ways to allow that match to be played. The first hypothesis is to exclude players without health requirements to stay in Italy, the second leads to the idea of imposing a neutral field on Italy.
The play-off Semifinals and Finals schedule for the World Cup
Un draw not perfectly "easy" for Roberto Mancini's Italy. In fact, if the Azzurri were to beat North Macedonia, then in the final they would find themselves facing Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal or Turkey. Below is the program for the Semifinals, scheduled for Thursday 24 March 2022.
- 18 Russia-Poland
- 20.45 Sweden-Czech Republic
- 20.45 pm ITALY-North Macedonia
- 20.45 Portugal-Türkiye
- 20.45 Wales-Austria
- 20.45 Scotland-Ukraine
This, on the other hand, is the program for the finals (with possible crosses between the national teams) which will be played on Tuesday 29 March 2022.
- 20.45 Portugal/Türkiye vs ITALY/North Macedonia
- 20.45 Russia/Poland vs Sweden/Czech Republic
- 20.45 Wales/Austria vs Scotland/Ukraine
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