Just now, as reigning European champions, Italy have missed out on a direct World Cup ticket and, as with the drama in 2017, must turn into the play-offs. But while the Italian gazettes are probably pre-typing their hard-hitting headlines, success coach Roberto Manciniis already talking about the very big time.
Roberto Mancini has brought success back to football in Italy, there is no question about that. The European Championship victory at Wembley in the summer (3:2 in the final against England) and the interim world record series of 37 international matches without defeat are the greatest achievements.
But for many weeks now, the worm has been in the wind, which was particularly evident in the all-important World Cup qualifiers – for example in the 1:1 against Bulgaria, for example in the 0:0 in Switzerland (missed Jorginho penalty), for example in the 1:1 against Switzerland (missed Jorginho penalty) and now on Monday evening especially in the 0:0 in Northern Ireland. And because the Swiss themselves won 4-0 against Bulgaria, Italy still slipped into the knockout stages.
A drama that directly brings back bad memories of 2017: back in November, the Azzurri lost the first leg 1-0 in Sweden, only to fail to go beyond a 0-0 draw at home shortly afterwards. Gianluigi Buffon in tears – according to the picture at the time.
Mancini moves forward with optimism
So now it’s back to the play-offs, which this time go up in March 2022 – and will be slightly different: Italy must first win a knockout match in the semi-finals (24/25 March), then a few days later in a final (28/29 March) to grab one of three remaining World Cup tickets (click here for the exact mode). A clash with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal or Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden could theoretically be on the cards.
For national coach Roberto Mancini, however, the matter is clear either way, as he told RAI Sport: “At the moment, we are simply struggling to score goals – even though we are dominating the game and taking the initiative. But there’s nothing we can do about having to go the long way round now. That’s a shame, especially as we should have cleared this group a long time ago. “
But the coach is not worried about the World Cup ticket decision in 2022: “We just have to get back to what has distinguished us for a long time. We will simply prepare meticulously for March and then go into the play-offs with confidence. And then we will book our place at the World Cup – and then hopefully win the tournament. Because I firmly believe that we are still a great team. Even if this is a difficult moment now, because we just threw away the direct qualification, which we already had almost certainly in our hands. “
