The first of the two years Italy were not able to even make it through World Cup qualification as they struggled in group 8 against Northern Ireland and Portugal. Whilst they performed well at home beating Northern Ireland 1-0 and Portugal 3-0 they struggled in their away fixtures with Portugal reversing the previous 3-0 scoreline against Italy. They also lost to Northern Ireland 2-1 in a tight fixture. This meant that Northern Ireland qualified whilst Italy and Portugal - two football titans to be - had to sit out this FIFA World Cup on the sidelines.
Italy were very inconsistent in their campaign to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. They had battled well with Spain drawing 1-1 and thrashing Liechtenstein 8-0 in the early stages of qualification. Yet later on they were clearly struggling as demonstrated by their 3-0 loss to Spain in the return fixture and a surprising draw with Macedonia at home. This left them second in their group and so they were to face Sweden in a playoff for a place at the World Cup.
Tensions were running high before the game with the President of the Italian Football Federation, Carlo Tavecchio, stating that failing to qualify for the World Cup would be like the Apocalypse. Italy lost the first leg away just 1-0 and a comeback seemed more than possible, with the goal from Sweden’s Johannson. He was to remain the only scorer over the two legs as the Azzurri were held to a 0-0 draw at home, therefore losing on aggregate. Their coach Ventura was humiliated and Buffon was left in tears as his international career ended in a humbling affair.
It goes without saying, that a World Cup without Italy won’t be without drama. Italy need time now to rebuild their squad under new management and work towards the Euros. It is in the Italian bars and pubs where it will hit hardest, where the atmosphere of World Cup fever will still be present, but not with its usual passionate frenzy. Fingers crossed for 2022!
2018
1958
The bitterness of Italy’s defeat nonetheless cannot be denied. A testament to this is Roberto Baggio’s tournament. The Italian number 10 nicknamed the “Saviour of Italy” and “the divine Ponytail” had scored 5 goals so far in the World Cup. Unfortunately however, when it came down to penalties, Baggio blasted his over the bar which ended up gifting Brazil the title. Baggio’s words after the game sum up many Italians’ feelings too: “I always dreamed of playing in a World Cup final since I was a little boy, but I never thought it could end like that.”
SPORT
THE YEARS THAT
WEREN'T TO BE
FOR ITALY