Italy

Sweden Coach Janne Andersson admired the “physical match” to beat Italy 1-0 in their World Cup play-off, but “we’re only halfway through.” The first leg was decided 1-0 in Solna…

Italy slumped to defeat in the first leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden, leaving them with an uphill battle at San Siro on Monday. A deflected effort from…

Leonardo Bonucci claims Ola Toivonen “broke my nose after 30 seconds and should’ve been sent off” in Italy’s World Cup play-off in Sweden. The incident occurred in the opening minute…

Giampiero Ventura maintains Italy’s 1-0 defeat to Sweden “changes nothing” in the World Cup play-off and defended Marco Verratti. Jakob Johansson scored the only goal of the game in Solna…

Sweden striker Marcus Berg claims he had to rein it in after a yellow card in the opening minute, but “Italy were trying to get me sent off.” The forward…

Lorenzo Insigne confirms he was asked to take over Marco Verratti’s midfield role during Italy’s 1-0 World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden. “I think that aside from the goal tonight,…

Andreas Granqvist hailed an “incredible” Sweden victory over Italy, but “the second leg in Milan is going to be very difficult.” The 1-0 result in Solna means the Azzurri must…

Marco Parolo said Italy must “play the game of a lifetime” in the second leg of their World Cup play-off against Sweden. The Azzurri were beaten 1-0 in Solna this…

Matteo Darmian rattled the woodwork in Sweden and maintains “the only thing Italy were missing was the goal” in their World Cup play-off. The wing-back had the best chance of…

Leonardo Bonucci admits Italy “were too slow in moving the ball, but Sweden tried to turn this into a brawl” after the 1-0 World Cup play-off defeat. The second leg…

Giampiero Ventura insists the 1-0 Italy defeat was “not the correct result” and complained the referee was too soft on Sweden’s fouls. Jakob Johansson’s strike in the second half proved…

Matteo Darmian’s shot came off the upright, but Sweden beat Italy 1-0 in the first leg of the World Cup play-off thanks to a deflected Jakob Johansson strike. Follow all…

Marco Verratti will be suspended for Italy’s World Cup play-off second leg against Sweden at San Siro on Monday. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was booked just 28 minutes into the…

Andrea Pirlo hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll become a Coach or a director in future. “We’ll see if there’s a spark.” The midfielder has hung up his boots after the…

Gigi Buffon notes there is “a fine line between anxiety and excitement” ahead of the World Cup play-off with Sweden, but “we have a 50 per cent chance of qualification.”…

Giampiero Ventura defends his choices in the World Cup play-off against Sweden and insists “Italy results were some of the best of the last 40 years.” The first leg of…

Italy legend Marco Tardelli calls for Giampiero Ventura and FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio to quit if the Azzurri miss the World Cup. The first leg of the play-off with Sweden…

Andrea Pirlo had been “thinking about retirement for a while” and thanked the New York City FC fans for “treating me like a star when I wasn’t.” ‘Il Maestro’ hung…

Italy start Ciro Immobile, Andrea Belotti and Marco Verratti in a 3-5-2 formation for the World Cup play-off first leg in Sweden. It kicks off at the Friends Arena in…

Join us for all the build-up, action and post-match talk as it happens from the World Cup play-off first leg between Sweden and Italy. It kicks off at the Friends…