Italy coach Roberto Mancini is confident about his side’s chances of playing at the 2022 World Cup despite the European champions missing out on an automatic qualification spot on Monday.
Italy’s 0-0 draw in Northern Ireland meant Switzerland finished top of World Cup qualifying Group C following their 4-0 win over Bulgaria in Lucerne – a result that condemned Mancini’s men to the playoffs.
It is the second successive World Cup qualification campaign that Italy have made the playoffs.
“I am very confident for the playoffs,” Mancini told RAI Sport. “Maybe we will even win the World Cup finals.
“We can’t do anything about it now, we have these (playoff) games in March and will try to give our best.
“It’s a pity, because we should have sealed the group long before it came to this. We just need to rediscover what we were all about up until today.”
The Azzurri failed to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament for the first time since 1958 four years ago after defeat by Sweden in the playoffs over two legs.