Coach of the Azzurri of Italy, Gennaro Gattuso has rued his team’s loss to an Erling Haaland-inspired Norway side and admitted that the 4–1 scoreline was “heavy” and painful for the fans.
The loss which was surprisingly on home soil puts the four-year world champions is a precarious position of likely missing out of the World Cup for the third consecutive time since 2018 if they fail to make it through the playoffs they are now condemned to play.
Gattuso believes he can still find a solution to the quagmire of a playoff so they could earn a sport in the World Cup that would be hosted for the first time by three countries – Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We’ll find a solution. We want to reach the semi-finals, push through to the final, and earn our place at the World Cup,” he told Rai Sport.
Speaking on the scandalous loss to Norway , he said, “The first half was very good, but the second half was nowhere near the standard we set.”
