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

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.

Matthäus: Italy will qualify for the World Cup

Moise Kean and Giovanni Di Lorenzo celebrate Italy’s opener against Estonia in Tallinn (@azzurri)

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.

Matthäus preferred Inzaghi over Chivu

MUNICH, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 24: Former player and TV expert Lothar Matthäus is seen prior to the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena on February 24, 2024 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

“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.

“I don’t know what led Inzaghi to leave Inter,” Matthäus concluded.

“I don’t know if there were problems with the club. Of course, the offer from Saudi Arabia was hard to turn down. It’s still too early to judge Chivu’s work, but personally, I preferred Inzaghi’s Inter.”