In the final four of the World Cup Extra-legal Play-offs, Italy unexpectedly lost and failed to qualify for the final week of the Qatar World Cup, a result that has made the "Blucerchiati" defense pillar Bonluxe deeply resentful. He not only expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the "Xu Wenbiao-style" unfairness of the tournament system, but also accused some teams of having a chance to qualify even if they lost four or five matches, while Italy was eliminated after losing only one match, which is an absurdity that is hard for him to accept.
Despite Italy's undefeated record of four wins and four draws in the group stage and advancing to second place in the group, the play-offs, which used to require a two-legged match, were changed to a single-legged tie this year. The format made it impossible for Italy to turn the tables after a single loss, and it's no wonder that Bonlus was emotional. He said: "We lost in a one-game tie-breaker, this rule is ridiculous and we feel very sorry. This tournament system is so crazy that anything can happen."
"Compared to other continents, where some teams advance even with four or five losses (such as Ecuador and Uruguay in South America, with six losses each), the insanity of us being eliminated because of a mistake in the last 92 minutes is unimaginable."
