On the face of it, Italy had a good international break.
In Gennaro Gattuso’s first two games in charge, the Azzurri thrashed Estonia 5-0 and then won a remarkable game against Israel 5-4 with Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali scoring a last-gasp winner.
The result in Debrecen – the game was played in Hungary due to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza by Israel – pushed Italy above their opponents in the World Cup qualifying Group I table.
The problems for Gattuso and Italy came elsewhere. Norway’s incredible 11-1 hammering of Moldova means Erling Haaland and Co, who have played a game more, are six points clear of Italy with a goal difference of +21, significantly better than Italy’s +5.
So, even an Italy win when the teams meet again in November is unlikely to be enough to secure top spot.
That would push them into the play-offs and leave them facing the potential nightmare of missing out on another World Cup.
Will Italy miss a third successive World Cup?
The four-time winners were absent in 2018 and 2022 and it would be unthinkable for such a passionate footballing nation to fail once again.
The Italian media have resigned themselves to the prospect of the play-offs with Gazzetta Dello Sport today publishing an analysis of Italy’s potential opponents on the assumption they won’t overhaul Norway.
Sweden, spearheaded by Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, have already been pinpointed as a danger while the likes of Serbia and Slovakia could also lie in wait.
So, how has it come to this? Why are Italy consistently failing on the international stage?
Our friends at the Italian Football Podcast have had their say. Watch the embedded link above and then listen to the full version wherever you get your podcasts.
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