Coach Gattuso dissatisfied, demands to change rules in World Cup qualifiers

Gattuso - Ảnh 1. — Coach Gattuso said it was unfair for the second-placed team to have to play the play-off - Photo: REUTERS

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has publicly expressed his anger and dissatisfaction with the European qualifying format for the 2026 World Cup, saying it was "unfair" for the runners-up to have to play a play-off despite setting a record of six consecutive wins in a World Cup qualifying campaign.

A direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup is becoming more and more distant for the Italian team. Despite having just beaten Moldova 2-0 in the penultimate round, Italy is almost certain to finish second in Group I.

They must create a historic earthquake - beat Norway by a margin of up to 9 goals in the final match at San Siro on November 16 to be able to take the top spot from their opponents.

According to current rules, only the top team in each group gets a direct ticket. The second-placed team must enter a risky play-off series.

Speaking after the victory over Moldova, Gattuso could not hide his disappointment with the ticket allocation mechanism: "In my time, the second-placed team with the best record went straight through. Now everything has changed. If you want to change the rules, you have to talk to the organizers. 6 wins is still not enough? Ask the people who made the group and the rules," Gattuso emphasized.

This bitterness is well founded. This could be the third consecutive time that Italy have had to play in a play-off, after tragic failures in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup (lost to Sweden) and 2022 (lost to North Macedonia), which saw them miss out on the last two World Cups.

The 2006 World Cup champion even extended his criticism to FIFA's global World Cup quota allocation mechanism, despite Europe being given 16 places in the upcoming 48-team World Cup.

He compared: "In 1990 there were only two African teams in the World Cup... Now there are nine teams. I'm not complaining, but that makes it difficult, and everyone understands that."

Gattuso's dissatisfaction increased when compared to South America: "In South America, 6 teams out of 10 go straight in, the 7th team goes to the play-off... That makes people regretful and sad. The system in Europe needs to change".

Not only was the Italian coach frustrated with the format, he also reacted harshly to questions about his team’s unconvincing performance against Moldova. This was a match in which Italy controlled the ball 70% of the time and had overwhelming shots (25 vs 3), but had to wait until the 88th minute to open the scoring.

Gattuso loudly protested: "Italy controlled the whole match, Moldova did not have a single shot on target. If someone expected an 11-1 score like Norway vs Moldova, that is not my problem. No match is easy."

What annoyed the 47-year-old strategist the most was the boos and insults from a small group of Italian fans present at the away stadium in Chisinau.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-gattuso-bat-man-doi-doi-luat-tai-vong-loai-world-cup-20251115082126276.htm