FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced a revamp of the way FIFA world rankings are calculated, which could help Italy in future.
The Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, partly because they were second seeds in the draw and ended up in the same group as Spain.
As only one side could go through from each group, this almost automatically doomed the Nazionale to the play-offs, where they went out against Sweden.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced a revamp of the way FIFA world rankings are calculated, which could help Italy in future.
The Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, partly because they were second seeds in the draw and ended up in the same group as Spain.
As only one side could go through from each group, this almost automatically doomed the Nazionale to the play-offs, where they went out against Sweden.
Several nations have complained about the ranking system and today Infantino declared they were setting up “hopefully a more fair” version.
Sides can currently be penalised for playing too many friendlies, while others can receive massive boosts by beating very low-rated opponents.
Points are assigned not on the total results earned, but the average per match, although that is now changing after the 2018 World Cup.
It will also focus more on the importance of the game when calculating the ranking.
In the latest world rankings, Italy have climbed one place to 19th, behind Wales, the Netherlands, Mexico, Denmark, Peru and Chile.
FIFA also postponed debate on whether they’ll increase the number of teams participating in the 2022 World Cup to 48 from the current 32.