The term 'clutching at straws' comes to mind
Fresh from the embarrassment of failing to qualify for their second consecutive World Cup, Italy are - reportedly, at least - holding onto very faint hopes that they might still clinch qualification for Qatar.
Less than 12 months after their success in the European Championships, Roberto Mancini's side were
knocked out in the play-offs by a 92nd minute winner from North Macedonia.
Reports in Italy, however, are suggesting that there could yet be a way for the Azzurri to reach Qatar, albeit extremely unlikely.
Concerning scenes in Iran could open the door for Italy, reports say
The idea stems from the horrifying scenes which took place in Iran on Tuesday as 2,000 women who tried to attend their nation's World Cup qualifier against Lebanon were treated abhorrently.
https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1509174562415644674
Security used pepper spray and heavy-handed tactics to prevent women from entering the stadium. Sadly this isn't the first time incidents like this have happened in Iran, who have previously been warned by FIFA.
According to
Football-Italia, a member of the Iranian Football Federation Mehrdad Seradsch had posted on social media that he had received 'worrying news' from both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) about what had happened.
It's possible that Iran could face punishment, with one of the more severe consequences potentially resulting in Iran being removed from the World Cup altogether.
Why does the Italian press think Italy could still qualify?
In the unlikely event that Iran are booted out, logically, the most sensible decision would be to allow another nation from the AFC to take their place. But this is football and, as we all know, logic doesn't always come into it.
For that reason it's been suggested that the nation with the highest-ranking coefficient that hasn't qualified would be a better option to replace Iran. In this case, it would be Italy, whose coefficient has been boosted by their Euro 2020 triumph last summer.
Any decision like that would surely spark outrage amongst others who have failed to qualify - namely the potentially overlooked AFC nations.
https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1509453418313785348
If you're Italian, maybe don't bother getting your hopes up too much. It's almost certainly not coming to Rome.
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