European champions Italy could face a bizarre situation of missing out on the FIFA World Cup for the second time in a row. Roberto Mancini’s men failed to secure direct qualification to the tournament as they finished second in Group C and now face a prospect of play-offs.
And there could be more misery for the former world champions as they could face the likes of Portugal and Sweden in the play-off rounds. This now means, for the second consecutive World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ) Italy will have to play the play-offs. And if memories are fresh the Azzurri’s failure to qualify for the World Cup in Russia as Sweden showed them the exit door.
Italy needed to match Switzerland's result in their match against Northern Ireland on Monday night. But everything the four-time world champs did go wrong. Mancini’s men looked like a pale shadow of their own as they couldn’t break the duck and ultimately finished goalless in Ireland. The Swiss Army, on the other hand, made extensive use of the opportunities provided by Northern Ireland. Switzerland won their contest by 4-0 against Bulgaria and topped the group with 18 points. All four goals came in the second-half display.
Attention now shifts to the play-offs in March for Italy where their potential opponents would be Portugal, Sweden (who knocked Italy out in the 2018 WCQ playoffs). So far, things aren't going well for the European champions, who are attempting to avoid Deja Vu of November 2017.
