I still can't understand how a team that were expected to reach the finale could be eliminated by North Macedonia in the play-off round. I know that it has been a long time since it happened but it's hard to absorb.
Injuries can play a big role for the competing teams in this World Cup.
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I'd like to asnwer this because this is why we are here betting on soccer (other sports too) but soccer is something else...
A lot of matches are simply unpredictable, maybe impossible to find out what's happened.
I don't think Italy lost the chance to World Cup due to injuries, look at the chart:
If I ask any person here which team to bet on 1st place, I'm sure more than 90% would say Italy, but somehow Switzerland was more consistent and won the world cup slot
This was where Italy lost the spot
Curiosity: Italy didn't lose a match in groups, 6 more teams didn't lose too.
So, strange things always happens in soccer, and EUFA qualifiers is a hard way to get to World Cup.
Next World Cup will have more teams, Italy have the chance to get a new generation of players to play again in a higher level.