The players missing from the World Cup Italy are suffering the consequences of a lack of forward planning that has left their main rivals behind, according to Marco Materazzi.
After failing to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 finals, Italy somehow set itself up to miss out on this year’s expanded 48-team tournament in North America.
Scorer and winner of the World Cup final in 2006, Materazzi told the South China Morning Post: “We know Italy is not one of the best soccer countries, because England, Spain and Germany have many (quality) stadiums, and they have solid infrastructure. They think about the future. Italy, it’s not the same.”
Sadly, Materazzi inappropriately compared Italy to Morocco, where he recently visited the Fifa office which is located inside the national football center of Rabat.
“I went in and saw 12 courts, two five-star hotels and four padel courts,” Materazzi said. “I asked what was going on in the other part of the complex and it was 10 more pitches for women.
“This is to be open-minded for the future.
