Scars from the past haunt Italy as new World Cup heartache looms

For a country that considers football a birthright, Italy is once again staring into the abyss. The four-time world champion is on the eve of an unthinkable new low: failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.

The Azzurri Take on Norway in a decisive qualifier at San Siro on Sunday, but the mood is one of fear and not anticipation. Sitting three points behind the group leaders, Italy’s hopes of automatic qualification are a mathematical fantasy. Due to a vastly inferior goal difference, they have to beat Norway by an impossible margin of nine goals.

For Italian supporters, this scenario is painfully familiar. The likely path now is the one they fear most: the playoffs.

It is a route that has become a source of national trauma. In 2017, the country was plunged into sporting mourning after a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Sweden, a failure that ended a six-decade run of World Cup appearances. The Azzurri were forced to watch the 2018 Russia tournament from home.

Four years later, the unthinkable happened again. Fresh from the triumph of winning the 2021 European Championship, Italy suffered perhaps the most humiliating defeat in modern history. A 1-0 defeat at home to North Macedonia in the semi-final of the 2022 play-offs left a team of continental champions utterly shattered and once again crashed out of the World Cup.

Those scars haven’t healed. Now the country is preparing for a possible third “apocalypse,” as one journalist called the original failure. The agony is only heightened by the fact that the 2026 tournament in North America will be expanded to 48 teams, further increasing Italy’s potential exclusion.

The turmoil during the season, which saw manager Luciano Spalletti depart after a disastrous opening loss to Norway, has only added to the concerns. His replacement, Gennaro Gattuso, has led the team to five wins, but the victories have done little to calm the nervous crowd.

Unless a miracle happens on Sunday, Italy will be forced to confront their demons in the one-match play-offs, where a single bad night, a moment of poor finishing or a defensive error could seal another heartbreaking chapter for a football giant.

Related