Matthäus: Norway ‘stronger’ than Italy, I preferred Inzaghi over Chivu

Inter and Germany legend Lothar Matthäus believes Italy will qualify for the World Cup even if Norway are ‘stronger’ and admits he prefers Simone Inzaghi’s Inter over Cristian Chivu’s.

Matthäus was one of the guests at the Festival dello Sport, organised by Gazzetta dello Sport in Trento.

The former German star spoke about the Italy national team and ex-club Inter, as quoted by FcInter1908.

The 64-year-old believes the Azzurri will qualify for the 2026 World Cup: “Yes, even if they’ll need to be in the playoffs as Norway are stronger currently, but it’s unthinkable that Italy won’t play in the next World Cup after missing the previous two.”

Inter finished the 2024-25 season without trophies and replaced Inzaghi with Chivu last summer.

“In the end, they didn’t win anything, but it was a fantastic season,” said Matthäus.

“The games against Bayern Munich and Barcelona will go down in Inter’s history. They were two unforgettable games. There’s not much to say about the Final. I suffered because of the defeat, but not even too much because PSG’s win was absolutely deserved.