FIGC President: Serie A Schedule Won’t Be Changed for Play-offs – If We Lose, We Don’t Deserve the World Cup

In the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Playoffs, Italy will face Northern Ireland in the first round.

Gabriele Gravina, President of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), delivered a speech at the Federal Council meeting today and addressed topics related to the national team.

When asked about the possibility of postponing a round of Serie A for the 2026 FIFA World Cup play-offs:

“Reschedule the round of Serie A before the national team’s play-offs? We will not seek alternative solutions or take shortcuts. I believe postponing or suspending that round is unfeasible, and we are preparing to organize a training camp independently. No more than 25% of our callable players are in Serie A; the head coach can monitor them in the coming months. A training camp may be held in mid-February, which will also be compatible with clubs' international commitments.”

When discussing the play-off opponents: 

“If you lose away from home, it means you don’t deserve to go to the World Cup. No matter who the opponent is, the result is the same – we cannot accept such an outcome. The key is to score goals, to win, and thus reach the final. I believe we will face all this with sufficient determination.”

“What about the home venue for the match against Northern Ireland? Our choice is Bergamo, as I mentioned before. We think it is a suitable stadium for this clash with Northern Ireland.”

When addressing the World Cup qualification criteria:

“The rules are clear; there is no point in looking for so-called anomalies. Of course, if there is a FIFA world ranking system, it may have an impact to some extent.”

“An Italian national team that fails to qualify for the World Cup is not only a loss of image for us but also for the World Cup organizers, as Italy is a country with extremely high football interest. Why might Italy miss the World Cup? Because we cannot win. The football environment we are in now is different from a few years ago, and some situations were unimaginable before.”