LOL here is another one. Their only win at the tournament since the 2006 final was against England
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Roberto Baggio suggested such
a plan on how to revive Italian football. With the help of his colleagues, he wrote a 900 page report on how to do it. I think this was in 2010. The Italian FA totally ignored his recommendations.
Now, the Italian FA seeing the repercussions of it. To the average Italisn football fan, it is unforgiveable. Maybe now the Italian FA will wake up.
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Still havenāt forgiven Italy for their cheating in 2006. Fuck 'em
Karmaās a bitch 'ey lads?
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Will I be watching the World Cup? Almost apologetically, I will probably tune in to watch select games, especially at the sharp end.
I donāt feel much of a sense of joy or excitement about it though, sadly. Itās possible that if England put some sort of run together, it might draw me in more, but Iām a big hypocrite there, Iām afraid. I canāt stand most of them, but I reserve the right to defend them and support them if the mood takes me 
Everything about Trump and what America is becoming makes me nervous about the tourney. In some weird sort of way (and I hope not with an incident that takes lives) I hope the World Cup will be a global spotlight on the failures of the current regime here, that would cause some introspection and much needed change.
Iām not hopeful, but a failed tournament, marked by empty stadiums would be the sort of thing I have in mind. Article after article would be written in every nation around the world.
Beneath all the layers of crap, I do actually love the game! If that side of me can possibly be kindled, Iād love to see some great action and perhaps some World Cup moments to remind me why I love it.
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Football has come a long way in the US since the 90s, but the lack of either Italy or Ireland being there youād think would significantly dent the domestic market for this.
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Yeah, the gold standard of āWhat happens when you allow corruption and cheating run rampantā.
I wonder if the PL will take note.
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There seemed to be some odd blaming of the lack of restriction on foreign players and bosman.
Of course every other international team had this issue and why it only affected them about 20 years after it came in is anyoneās guess.
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its only a part of the issue, onviously everyone is dealing with the same issue, but given the money in the italian league comparative to where its standards sit, i presume he means lots of journeymen xan come to italy and block progress.
its a very nuanced and far from perfect point, but i think theres something in it
if a league gets a lot of Mo Salahs, then that could be seen as an upgrade and inspiration for the local talentā¦ if that same league then gets cluttered with the Djimi Traores and David Ngogs of the world, then maybe not so great.
its a fine line between bein gthe best and stopping the local talent shine through.
we have the same (on an entirely smaller scale) over here, our top league has had its share of journeymen, āstar recruitsā and even just local older players who are ātrustedāā¦youth struggles to find a way through.
you go one tiew down in Melbourne at least, and the standards not a million miles off, but its packed full of kidsā¦
I will watch every kick from the Australians over the 3 games. I doubt they get a 4thā¦
I will still watch as much as possible depending on time zones for ko times here.
Overall despite the hatred of corruption etc it will not stop me. I still watch the Olympics and IOC hardly cover themselves in glory.
Qatar, Russia, Brazil and Sth Africa all had the pre tourney doubters and they worked out OK. This will be fine again. So Iām looking forward to it.
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Different concerns with each. Russia was OK (I mean the 1936 Olympics were regarded as a PR success) Qatar less so. When the current North American bid was announced, I was quite happy as Mexico in 86 and the USA in 94 had both been decent tournaments. Unfortunately, the US is no longer the same country.
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Spot on. For a while there after the announcement I considered going to US as I have not been to a WC. But fuck em.
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USA are 16th, Turkey 22nd, Aus 27th and Paraguay 40th in the FIFA rankings. The greoup is actually fairly tight and even
Hang on I just checked the draw.
8 best placed 3rd places go through. Didnt realise.
Aussies are now back in it and might get that 4th match!!
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But theyāve done nothing about it
I think part of the point is that the money isnt there in Italian football anymore. The money has always been skewed in that league, often with the top earners benefiting from Jack Walker style rich industrialist owners. But today there is no Italian club in Europeās top 10 in revenue. Their best clubs cluster around the sort of revenue that West Ham and Brighton bring in, which means the bulk of their league have the sort of finances that would make them struggle to outcompete EFL sides.
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The fallout of Italy missing yet another WC year:
Gianluigi Buffon has also resigned from his role as national delegation chief from the Italy national team
Italian Federation president Gabriele Gravina has just resigned.
https://sport.sky.it/calcio/mondiali/2026/04/02/italia-nazionale-news-gravina-figc-ct
Conte and Allegri, favorites to replace Gattuso as Italy coach
I have been oblivious to not just the World Cup, but towards football in general for a fair few months. So much so, that only after reading these post I felt curious to check who have qualified.
While I feel the qualification of Haiti, Curacao (I had a pen-friend there). Cape Verde, Congo, and Panama can rival fairytales, I also feel this expanded format will degrade the quality and development of football.
I have been watching World Cups since 1982, and I donāt intend to miss this one either. But the timing is not helpful, late-night (1 AM), or early-morning (7 AM) games cause havoc with my sleep and work.
So, who is supporting which country???
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Just in my 50s. I know there are a fair few in their 70s. 
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I can remember vividly the heartbreak of ā74 and ā78, not to mention 2010ā¦and, yes, Iām fucking old!
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