Materazzi: Italy in the ‘easiest’ World Cup group, but ‘take nothing for granted’

Former Italy defender Marco Materazzi believes the Azzurri were lucky to end up in the ‘easiest’ World Cup group: ‘But now we must qualify.’

Italy learned their potential World Cup group stage opponents during the draw on Friday. The Azzurri have been placed in Group B alongside Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.

“We ended in the easiest group, but now we must qualify for the World Cup,” Materazzi told Gazzetta.

The 2006 World Cup winner went on to examine the Azzurri’s potential rivals, saying that Canada would be the toughest opponent.

“Canada, because they are one of the host teams,” he said.

“It’s never easy to face a national team playing at home, but watch out for Qatar too. They’ll be one of those sides that will do everything they can to make their country proud.”

The Azzurri could also meet again with Switzerland, who eliminated La Nazionale from the 2024 Euros.

“They play good football, but beating them could be a sort of revenge for that match,” argued Materazzi.

“Anyway, I think they’re among the ‘softest’ European opponents we could have drawn. I repeat, this draw didn’t go badly at all, quite the opposite.”

Italy will qualify for the World Cup if they beat Northern Ireland in the play-off semifinal in March and either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final.

What will the Azzurri need to get their tickets for the USA, Canada and Mexico next year?

“Stay united, even in tough moments,” Materazzi replied.

“We must take nothing for granted; the players on the pitch will have to give everything and above all, play without fear. We saw it last time against North Macedonia, every tiny detail can make the difference or cost us dearly.

“Italy must play without fear and start strong right away. These kinds of matches need to be won immediately, and we must not repeat the mistake we made against North Macedonia, when we conceded at minute 90. At that point, you don’t have time to fix things anymore.”

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso won the 2006 World Cup along with Materazzi.

“As a coach, he has always given his teams a clear style of play,” said the ex-defender.

“As for his personality, we all know him well. I hope he’s the right man to take us back to the World Cup. It would be great for him, but more generally, for all of Italy, to finally return to the competition. We’ve been missing for too long. However, I think that if we don’t make it, it won’t be his fault.

“A failure for Italian football and above all for the entire system. If you fail to qualify for three consecutive editions, someone should raise their hand and say: ‘Sorry, I’ll step aside because I’m not up to the task.’”

Lastly, Materazzi recalled Italy’s effort to win the World Cup in 2006.

“We were only thinking about going out on the pitch as a tight unit in every match. It was a group of friends who felt good together. And we had great quality,” he concluded.