The world draw in Qatar But the Azzurri are watching

Infantino, number 1 of FIFA: «Italy out? Thinking about it makes me want to cry »In addition to the host national team, there will be no new country: it is the first time

The world of football has stopped expanding in Doha, where today the draw for the World Cup scheduled between November and December will take place, the second consecutive with Italy out, the first ever without rookies among the qualifiers. The only new international is Qatar, admitted by right as the host. The new faces had already fallen in the last editions: Panama and Iceland in 2018, Bosnia in 2014, Slovakia in 2010. A sharp slowdown compared to the six newcomers in one fell swoop in Germany in 2006.

This tightening of the boundaries seems to justify Fifa’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026. It is necessary to add seats at the table to involve new diners. The observation that a very large part of the population will not be able to cheer for their national team also goes in this direction. In Qatar there will only be the United States, Brazil and Mexico among the ten most populous countries. But this technical layering may suggest that the 16 extra seats will be filled by selections too weak to benefit the show.

On the other hand, the idea of ​​the two-year World Cup wanted by Fifa cools: «It was a feasibility study. We are now in a new phase, in which agreements and compromises are being tried, ”said President Gianni Infantino during the Congress in Doha. The meeting experienced moments of tension when the president of the Norwegian Football Association, Lise Klaveness, the first woman to head a football federation, attacked Qatar for the grueling working conditions in the construction sites of the stadiums (shifts of 10-12 hours under the sun at 50 degrees) and the criminalization of homosexuality: “There is no room for those who do not guarantee respect for the freedom and safety of workers, and do not protect the rights of the gay community”, he said with great courage in front of the representatives of the emirate.

Touching the speech of the president of the Ukrainian Football Association, Andriy Pavelko, connected from Kiev. Ukraine is one of the seven national teams that can fill in the three free boxes. Appointment in June for the European playoff, postponed due to the Russian invasion, where Wales awaits the winner of Scotland-Ukraine. And for the two intercontinental play-offs Costa Rica-New Zealand and Peru against the winner of the United Arab Emirates-Australia. Today in the ballot box the eight seeded players will want to avoid Germany placed in the second pot.

Italy (6th) is the only one absent from the top 15 of the Fifa rankings. Evelina Christillin has extinguished any more timid illusion of repechage blue in the event of exclusion of Iran for having left out 2,000 spectators who had bought tickets for the match with Lebanon: “We have not talked about it – explains the Uefa representative to Radio Rai within Fifa – however, instead of Iran, an Asian team would have entered. Let’s get out of our minds that Italy can go to the World Cup ».

We have to wait for the boundaries of football to widen to try again. –