From Oslo to Milan, Norway still beats the Azzurri. To go to the World Cup you will have to go through the playoffs in March, but not everything seen at San Siro is to be thrown away
Italy ends its efforts in the qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup without giving itself a boost in self-esteem, still losing badly against Terminator Haaland’s Norway and finishing with a score of 18 points out of 24, not enough for the direct passport. Norway goes to the World Championship for the fast road with full merit. The Azzurri have to move on from the playoffs in March, praying that the epilogue will be different from the double elimination at the hands of Sweden and North Macedonia. First the semi-final and eventual final draw, then it will be three months of passion and nightmares hoping to arrive in the spring with a minimum of physical and psychological condition in the key players for Gattuso. Nothing else can be done.
The match in the rain at San Siro was the best in the first half in terms of the performance of the new coach’s Italy: partial consolation, which does not erase the blows taken in the second half when the Norwegians raised their center of gravity by a few metres. There was no lack of commitment from our team and it wasn’t to be taken for granted, given that the friendly atmosphere suggested bad thoughts. The Azzurri had some scores to settle and it showed quickly, then Norway came back with their enormous offensive qualities and there was room for the (failed) attempt to resist. The moral? Here are some scattered notes observing the last Italy before the world playoffs:
– the crossing of the winter desert leading to the play-off matches will be very difficult on a psychological level. There is no point in hiding it, the final collapse against Norway will fill the nights of Gattuso and the Azzurri with nightmares and will add further weight to an environment already terrified by the idea of reliving the double elimination against Sweden and North Macedonia. It couldn’t have gotten any worse than this…
– despite everything, replicating the match with the Norwegians (the one in the first half) could be enough for any opponent we encounter in the first and second matches in March. The recovery was a nightmare. Of course, the draw must help us because the warmth of home helps and in this San Siro with its 70 thousand people who came despite everything was impeccable;
– next weekend there is the Milan derby, Napoli who must redeem themselves after the crisis opened in Bologna, Juventus with Fiorentina and Roma who daydream of a top championship. A thousand reasons for distraction, in short, but the Azzurri thrown into the fray by Gattuso gave everything without sparing themselves. Excellent signal;
– Norway is strong with an attack of enormous quality, with a monster who scores one or two goals per game and who responds to the name of Haaland. Stronger than Italy, but this doesn’t mean that everything should be thrown away for us;
– Haaland said he didn’t know who Pio Esposito was and the Italian quickly clocked in to signal to the Manchester City striker that a refresher course would be useful. The surprising thing about Esposito is that he does everything, even the mistakes, with the attitude of a consummate footballer so as to make us forget that the match against Norway was his first as a starter for the national team and that, in absolute terms, he has 3 goals in 229 minutes;
– the three-man defense is the most functional outfit for this group, also because it allows you to replicate the movements and plays of the Inter block on the left chain. Since there is no time to build anything else, it is smart to exploit the book of knowledge already acquired;
– the defeat almost certainly costs Italy the chance of being seeded at the World Cup, if they manage to get there. It’s collateral damage that seems irrelevant today but who knows tomorrow…
– the amount of criticism and malice rained down on Gattuso, in this week of November break, testifies to how there is a non-imperceptible segment of Italians who are not dissatisfied with celebrating a new sporting funeral in the spring. The commitment is to leave her high and dry.
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