Juventus fullback Danilo admits Italy's World Cup qualifying failure was a surprise.

Danilo will be at Qatar 2022 with Brazil.

“I don't see a clear favourite to win the World Cup. Argentina won the Copa America, then there's France, Spain play well, while England are solid. These are all different cultures and different approaches to football," said the veteran.

“It was certainly a surprise that Italy didn't qualify and I didn't think that could happen. I have many teammates in the squad and was cheering them on.

“This just shows that modern football is unpredictable. North Macedonia deserve respect because they had a plan and stuck with it."