Italy failed to qualify for a World Cup after 60 years
Sweden stun Italy to book World Cup return
Carlo Tavecchio, the president of the Italian FA, famously said in September that “not qualifying would be an apocalypse.” And last night, at the San Siro, eleven Norsemen dressed in blue and gold brought it upon them, setting back the world clock by sixty years in the process.
A few years ago, if someone had mooted the possibility of a World Cup without Italy and the Netherlands, you would’ve been forgiven for laughing in their face.
These after all, are two powerhouses of world football, both ranked in the top 20 in the world, and almost always knocking at the door of international glory. But, then this is perhaps how the apocalypse would always have arrived, without much fanfare, and noise, slowly creeping up on the rest of us, while we stood oblivious to its assault.
Italy didn’t go to the World Cup in 1930. They didn’t qualify for the World Cup in 1958 — beaten that time by Northern Ireland in Belfast, in a result that sent shockwaves through the small sporting world of the time. And now, they will not be at the World Cup in 2018.
It is 20 years since Italy’s last appearance in a play-off for World Cup qualification. In a twist of fate, their opponents then were next summer’s hosts, Russia. The first leg of that tie was played in snow and subzero temperatures and is remembered as the night a 19-year-old Gianluigi Buffon made his debut as a 32nd-minute substitute for Gianluca Pagliuca. Flash forward to the present, and after 175 caps, Buffon has come the full circle and has been cruelly forced to retire after their failure in a World Cup play-off.
Perhaps there was an element of misfortune here. Italy was unfortunate to be drawn into a group with Spain when they might have got Romania or Wales. They were unfortunate to have finished second in the group and then draw the most impressive of the non-seeded second place sides in the play-off. And then of course, they will point to the individual moments of misfortune through the two legs, that knocked them out: the elbow on Leonardo Bonucci in the first leg that might have earned Ola Toivonen a first-minute red card; the deflected Jakob Johansson shot that brought the only goal; the string of saves made by the Swedish keeper Robin Olsen; the two penalties they might have won in the second leg.
But, in truth, Sweden could’ve also had two penalties, and for most of the second half on Monday, Italy lost their shape and calm, the two things the Azzurri pride themselves most over.
And the truth also is that this setback is a surprise, but not a shock.
