World Cup
Stramaccioni: ‘Qatar devastated by Italy’s World Cup ban’
Former Panathinaikos and current Al Garafa coach Andrea Stramaccioni spoke to the Italian news outlet about the climate in Qatar after the Italy national team were banned from the 2022 World Cup.
Italy’s exclusion from North Macedonia (0-1) at the 2022 World Cup was the big surprise of the qualifying phase.
The European champions’ absence from the big tournament was the theme of the day, with former Panathinaikos coach Andrea Stramatsoni conveying the sentiment from Qatar.
The Italy coach who joined last July Country on the Gulf taking over the technical leadership of Al Garafa claimed the Qatar World Cup organizers were shocked by the move.
“Italy’s expulsion is difficult to accept, especially for an Italian living in Qatar: for me, the bitterness has increased tenfold. In Qatar “They are shocked, almost devastated, by the Azzurri’s absence from the World Cup.” Stressing to the Italian news agency, Stramaccioni continued:
“It is a great loss for them not to host the European champions as they consider us one of the most important football clubs in the world.”
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.