This was nothing if not predictable. May not be a done deal, yet, as they could always rearrange matches to have Iran play in Mexico and/or Canada. Just makes that asinine FIFA Peace Prize look even more f***ing ridiculous than it did when they gave it to President D**kface. I wasn't sure that was possible.
Hard to comprehend, since Italy had world class players for as long as professional football existed. But looking at their current squad, it's not so surprising anymore. Can't tell from distance what went wrong, why this generation failed so terribly. Maybe it's the decline of Serie A, maybe the wrong priorities are set for their youth squads... still think it's a bit unfair to see Curacao, Cabo Verde or Haiti enter the tournament, when Italy or Denmark would crush them in no time - only 16 spots out of 48 for Europe is a sad joke. But: If Iran drops out as announced, Italy would gain the open entry.
