<p>Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said Friday that striker Ciro Immobile has become the "scapegoat" for Italy's failure to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup finals and claimed Serie A is "30 or 40 years behind" continental rivals.</p>.<p>"He is becoming the scapegoat for this situation. If I were him, I know what I'd do," Sarri said, seeming to suggest the international should quit the national side.</p>.<p>Italy's 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia deprived the four-time world champions of a place in the World Cup finals in Doha later this year.</p>.<p>"He shouldn't worry excessively. He must focus on Lazio," Sarri told a press conference ahead of this weekend's Serie A match at home against Sassuolo.</p>.<p>"I didn't find him down, I have confidence in him," the former Chelsea and Juventus coach continued of the 32-year-old who is joint top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals.</p>.<p>Immobile and Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne bore the brunt of criticism after the reigning European champions' defeat in Palermo.</p>.<p>Sarri was also alarmed at the level of Italian football after this elimination.</p>.<p>"If you watch the Premier League and the Bundesliga on TV, Serie A seems to be 30 or 40 years behind," he said.</p>.<p>"When I talk about the state of the pitch, I come across as someone who never stops complaining. But sending a team onto a pitch that is not good is like sending a surgeon to operate with a rusty scalpel," he continued.</p>.<p>"We paid for the lack of attention to detail," he added of the match against Sassuolo whose forward line has two candidates to replace Immobile in the national team -- Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori.</p>.<p>Lazio are seventh in Serie A, six points ahead of ninth-placed Sassuolo.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said Friday that striker Ciro Immobile has become the "scapegoat" for Italy's failure to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup finals and claimed Serie A is "30 or 40 years behind" continental rivals.</p>.<p>"He is becoming the scapegoat for this situation. If I were him, I know what I'd do," Sarri said, seeming to suggest the international should quit the national side.</p>.<p>Italy's 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia deprived the four-time world champions of a place in the World Cup finals in Doha later this year.</p>.<p>"He shouldn't worry excessively. He must focus on Lazio," Sarri told a press conference ahead of this weekend's Serie A match at home against Sassuolo.</p>.<p>"I didn't find him down, I have confidence in him," the former Chelsea and Juventus coach continued of the 32-year-old who is joint top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals.</p>.<p>Immobile and Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne bore the brunt of criticism after the reigning European champions' defeat in Palermo.</p>.<p>Sarri was also alarmed at the level of Italian football after this elimination.</p>.<p>"If you watch the Premier League and the Bundesliga on TV, Serie A seems to be 30 or 40 years behind," he said.</p>.<p>"When I talk about the state of the pitch, I come across as someone who never stops complaining. But sending a team onto a pitch that is not good is like sending a surgeon to operate with a rusty scalpel," he continued.</p>.<p>"We paid for the lack of attention to detail," he added of the match against Sassuolo whose forward line has two candidates to replace Immobile in the national team -- Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori.</p>.<p>Lazio are seventh in Serie A, six points ahead of ninth-placed Sassuolo.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>