How Italy Could Secure Ticket to Qatar World Cup Despite Shock Defeat to North Macedonia

• Iran’s decision to block 2000 women from entering a stadium could have ramifications on their World Cup ambitions
• Dragan Skocic's side qualified top of AFC Third Round group to book their place in Qatar
• But the nations’ actions could risk the wrath of FIFA, with the expulsion from the World Cup a minor possibility

Italy have a slim chance of still going to the Qatar World Cup, if an odd loophole is exploited.

The reigning European Champions, against the odds, were stunned out of the play-offs by North Macedonia in a game that they were expected to cruise through.

Defeat to North Macedonia ended Roberto Mancini’s side hopes of playing in the World Cup for the second edition in a row, but there is still a glimmer of hope if a report on Sportbible is anything to go by.

As per a theory from Sky Sport Italia and Sportitalia's, Italy could potentially replace Iran in the World Cup following a breach of FIFA rules.

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Recently, Iran attracted public attention for all the wrong reasons after 2000 women were stopped from entering the stadium for a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday, March 29, was the second such occurrence and it happened despite an initial warning from FIFA in 2019.

Football Itallia further reports that a member of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehrdad Seradschi was worried that the nation could receive devastating news from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation after the incident.

Iran could potentially face punishment, with one of the more extreme ones being expulsion from the World Cup.

In the unlikely event that it happens, FIFA could promote the country with the highest co-efficient in the rankings to the Qatar spectacle – Italy.

It is worth noting that all this is pure theory as no team has ever been expelled from the World Cup after qualification, but with the emerging trends of social media outrage, anything is possible.

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Bonucci slams World Cup ‘madness’

Days after Italy’s shock elimination, Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci slammed the World Cup qualifying system as “absurd”.

Bonucci was critical of the fact that Italy, despite going on an impressive run throughout the qualifiers and beyond, were knocked out by a solitary last minute goal.

“We played it all in a one-off match, it’s an absurd system,” Bonucci said. “Unfortunately, that’s the way it went, but it’s a crazy decision. You have to play a single game in which anything can happen as we have seen.

Salah, Haaland among top players to miss World Cup

Meanwhile, Sports Brief highlighted a number of world class football stars who are set to miss the Qatar spectacle.

In terms of nations, Italy, Egypt, Nigeria, and Algeria are some of the big names that will not be making an appearance.

Their absence will see a number of renowned footballers miss out as well, with Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Jorginho, and Erling Haaland among the big names out of the tournament.