The Azzurri are among the biggest absentees of the upcoming tournament.
Italy legend Roberto Baggio has reacted to Azzurri’s failure in securing the World Cup qualification.
A shocking defeat against North Macedonia in the playoffs prevented Italy from reaching the Qatar games.
The Azzurri, who were also absent in the 2018 World Cup, won the UEFA Euro 2020 last summer. The continental trophy doesn’t send the Azzurri to the World Cup.
However, Baggio feels it’s ‘shameful’ that the European champions won’t appear on football’s biggest stage.
“Italy won the European Championship. I think it’s shameful, it’s madness that they are not given an automatic berth to the World Cup for that.
“Anyone can lose one game against anyone else on a bad day, but these lads deserve some sort of reward for what they achieved, don’t they? If I had been in that squad, I would’ve struggled to accept it.”
Italy have struggled for consistency since winning the Euro 2020. A 3-0 defeat against Argentina in the Finalissima was Azzurri’s latest setback.
Baggio added: “I think Italy suffered psychological after-effects from the World Cup elimination. You can see it’s a psychological issue.
“We saw [in a 3-0 defeat to Argentina], you just cannot compare the calm and confidence of the Argentina players to our current state of mind.
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