Infantino takes a swipe at Italy: maybe they'd qualify with 64 teams | OneFootball

Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, continues to stir controversy with his statements about the World Cup and the number of countries participating in this first historic edition. 

On this occasion, the head of world football was asked about his idea of increasing the number of teams in the World Cup, which had already been raised at the FIFA Council, and he surprised many by mentioning Italy’s absence. 

"For now, we are enjoying this first historic World Cup with 48 teams. Maybe Italy would qualify with 64 teams. I could expand it to 228 and see if they qualify," he said to CazeTV before the opening in Mexico. 

As expected, his words were not well received in the boot-shaped country and were seen as a sign of disrespect.

This year, Italy suffered its third consecutive elimination in the World Cup qualifiers. It has not appeared at football’s biggest stage since Brazil 2014. 

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