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Italy coach Gattuso angry with his own fans: "A disgrace"
Keystone
In the battle for a World Cup ticket, Italy will probably have to go back to the play-offs. The four-time world champions have had bad experiences with this recently. The coach stands in front of the team and criticizes the fans.
Keystone-SDA
14.11.2025, 14:07
Gennaro Gattuso was really angry. "What I heard today was a disgrace. I can't accept it," said the Italian national team coach in response to the anger of his own fans. With the score at 0-0 in Moldova, the supporters audibly vented their anger at the Squadra Azzurra. Although Italy won 2:0 late on, the mood remained tense. The proud football nation is in danger of missing out on the World Cup finals for the third time in a row.
Hoping for the play-offs
Direct qualification is practically a thing of the past. Italy would have to win their final group game on Sunday against leaders Norway by nine goals to catch the Scandinavians. That is virtually impossible.Only once in their history have the Italians won with a nine-goal difference. That was 77 years ago. In 1948, they beat the USA 9-0 at the Olympic Games, which is why the four-time world champions are now focusing on the play-offs.
At least participation is certain. In principle, Gattuso already knew when he took over in June that the Italians would have to play detention in the battle for a trip to the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Norway too strong
Under the 47-year-old, Italy have won five out of five games. However, the Norwegians, who won the first leg against Italy 3-0 under Gattuso's predecessor Luciano Spalletti and thus ensured a preliminary decision, did not slip up. Instead, Erling Haaland & Co. celebrated several resounding victories - including an 11:1 win over Moldova.Some Italian fans apparently took this crazy result as a benchmark - at least that's what Gattuso believes: "There are no easy games. If you're still thinking about the 11-1 Norway did against them here, that's not my problem," said the former defensive midfielder, adding: "I'm very happy, let's move on."
Gattuso: "You have to stay united"
Despite all the difficulties and footballing deficits, Gattuso is calling for cohesion. As in his playing days, the 2006 world champion exemplifies the belief in success with uncompromising determination. "You have to stay united, because the team is struggling with difficulties on the pitch - and I don't accept hearing 500 fans protesting," he told broadcaster Rai.Gattuso also voiced criticism of the qualification system, in which only the twelve group winners in Europe qualify directly. "In our day, the best runners-up went straight to the World Cup," he recalled.
The play-offs in March 2026 will be held in mini-tournaments with a semi-final and final, as was the case before the last World Cup in Qatar. Back then, Italy were eliminated in the semi-finals against North Macedonia. Before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they also failed to reach the play-offs, but in a different format and against Sweden
