Italy’s play-off collapse to North Macedonia has re-opened painful scars for Azzurri fans following a similar situation in 2017, when the team’s failure to beat Sweden saw them miss out on the 2018 World Cup.
The 1-0 aggregate loss to Sweden back in 2017 led to an unbelievable situation for football fans across the world as Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958. Despite a slightly rocky qualifying campaign, which included a 3-0 loss to Spain, many still felt confident with Gian Piero Ventura’s Azzurri ahead of the two-legged play-off against Sweden.
The fact that the second leg of the play-offs was a pitiful 0-0 draw at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza only made the result hurt more. The aggregate loss was an incredibly difficult pill to swallow for all Italian football fans and many felt lost watching the tournament in Russia the following summer.
Italy did bounce back last summer however, re-igniting the passion in the hearts of those in the peninsula with their Euro 2020 glory. The team under Roberto Mancini looked electric in the tournament and it seemed to herald the start of a new cycle for the Azzurri.
Clearly, this wasn’t the case. The 1-0 loss to North Macedonia in Palermo yesterday was almost unbelievable for fans once again. Whilst some anxiety was clearly present following the memories of 2017, confidence was high following the European Championship and most fans were more concerned about a resulting match against Portugal.
Really, it’s impossible to choose which play-off defeat hurts more, as both result in the same disastrous fact: Italy will not be at the next World Cup.