The defeat against North Macedonia and the resulting exclusion from the World Cup hit Italy hard. The Squadra Azzurri appeared unprepared in the most important game of the year and were eliminated from the World Cup final for the second year in a row.

Berardi and the wrong choice of headquarters

Above all, Roberto Mancini’s team lacked freshness. The players looked like…squeezed lemon cups, exhausted from overexertion at Euro 2020. The fact that Domenico Berardi was the team’s top player, but also the fatale, says a lot about the game. And we say fatal because he’s the one who misses Italy’s biggest chances, with the most important one coming after North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski’s error.

Aside from the game, however, the Italian FA also made a mistake in choosing their headquarters. Yes, Sicily loves the national team, but Palermo’s stadium wasn’t the ideal choice for such an important game. There was a lack of intensity and passion, although the fullness was 100% for the first time, since the stands were mainly filled with families who gave a nice touch but could not put the national team under pressure in a game like this.

It is not the end of an era, but a time for bold decisions

In general, there have been serious problems in the association’s relations with clubs in the past. In fact, the lack of sympathy between the two sides was evident as the federation’s managers had asked the teams to release the players for national team commitments in order to best prepare for the game against North Macedonia, but they fell on… a wall . Of course it makes sense for the clubs themselves to want to defend their interests, especially when it comes to titles and European awards.

It may seem like the end of an era for Italy, but in reality it’s time for bold decisions. It’s time to decide Roberto Mancini’s future. Will he stay or will he go? The federation want to stay but Mancini seems to have different opinions as he feels he can’t get things right. What hurt him the most is the how 256 days after the Wembley triumph he saw the darkest page of his career written.

Enormous damage to the image of Italian football

Indeed, the problem is not Mancini. It is clear that this is the case It takes a long time to get over the punch. However, the biggest problem concerns Italian football in general. Another plan for developing and deploying new players needs to be decided as Italy has one of the lowest average scores for domestic players.

Even Fernando Santos, who had a more difficult task than Italy, made significant changes to the Portuguese squad, offering freshness and a different racing philosophy. On the contrary, Mancini used – with few exceptions – the same line-up as in the London final, although it was obvious that he did not he had read the opponent correctly. For Trajkovski in particular, the game seems to have been… butter on the bread, as he had been in Palermo for four years and knew the place very well.

In the end, the Italian national team is left with the fact that they will miss the second World Cup in a row. Perhaps the only one who is… happy is Gian Piero Ventura, whose fate Mancini pursued. History has shown that winning a euro is of course good, but if there is no consistency and continuity then it becomes very difficult. And without a doubt, this exclusion is a major damage to the image of Italian football.