Italy winger Federico Bernardeschi has labelled his nation’s failure to qualify for the tournament in Qatar as “absurd” - having been left hurting since their play-off humiliation.
The reigning European champions found themselves on the end of an embarrassing 1-0 reverse at the hands of minnows North Macedonia in the semi-finals back in March. It meant that the four-time world champions would not feature at the World Cup for the second time in a row having also failed to book their ticket to the previous edition in Russia.
The loss also came just a matter of months after they had lifted the Euro 2020 crown against England at Wembley Stadium, a matter not lost on Bernardeschi who claims that Roberto Mancini ’s men should have been granted an automatic place at the tournament.
