© AP
European champions Italians are not yet certain about their place in next year's World Cup in Qatar. The champions of the Old Continent failed to beat Northern Ireland in the last qualifying group match on Monday and surrendered first place to the Swiss. This means that the Italians will have to play additional matches to qualify for the World Cup. However, team strategist Roberto Mancini is not only confident about qualifying for the World Cup, but also hopes to triumph in the tournament. "We can't change anything now and will fight for a place in the World Cup in March," said R. Mancini after the match with Northern Ireland. "At the moment, we are struggling in attack, while our opponents are putting all their efforts into defense. We are very disappointed because we should have secured first place much earlier. It says a lot that we missed two penalty kicks in crucial matches. Now we are preparing for additional matches to qualify for the tournament. We will qualify for the World Cup and hopefully win it," added the Italian.
