Will Italy qualify for Qatar 2022 if FIFA bans Iran for denying stadium entry for women?

Italy could make it to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, courtesy of Iran, who are likely to receive sanctions from FIFA for their recent action of denying women from entering the stadium for Iran's World Cup qualifier clash vs Lebanon.

Though the possibility of Qatar 2022 remains highly impossible for Italy, the news is being reported by Sky Sports Italia after the theory was floated by Sport Mediaset. 

Will Italy play in Qatar 2022?

According to a report by Football Italia, Iran locked 2,000 women out of the stadium for Iran vs Lebanon FIFA World Cup qualifier match despite the fact they had purchased tickets. Iran won the match 2-0 but had already been warned by FIFA in 2019 to stop banning women from the stands.

The most extreme approach from FIFA would be to exclude Iran from the 2022 World Cup, for which they have already booked their spot. If Iran is excluded from the World Cup in Qatar, in theory, FIFA could promote a country with the highest co-efficient in the world rankings that has missed out on the tournament. In that scenario, current European Champions Italy are likely to get the nod.

Italy knocked out of FIFA World Cup qualifiers

European champions Italy failed to qualify for FIFA World Cup for a second consecutive time after losing to North Macedonia. It will be for the first time in the national team’s storied history that they have failed to get to the tournament on consecutive occasions, after they failed to make it in 2018 as well.

The winning goal for North Macedonia, which hasn’t played at the World Cup since gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, came in the second minute of stoppage time, as Aleksandar Trajkovski’s low shot into the corner from outside the area found the net.

However, North Macedonia's journey was ended by Portugal in the final after Cristiano Ronaldo's men beat them 2-0. There will be no appearance for North Macedonia at the World Cup, even though it came into World Cup playoffs after its participation in Euro 2020 - its first major tournament appearance ever.

North Macedonia, which gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, didn't get past the group stage at last year's Euros, losing all of its three matches.