Italy will play their first World Cup playoff tie in nearly two decades when they make the trip to Stockholm to take on Sweden on Friday night.
The Italians have never missed a World Cup after failing to make it to the 1958 edition of the tournament (hosted by Sweden), and under-fire coach Gianpiero Ventura would want to avoid the ignominy of being the manager that failed to take the Azzurri to the World Cup, especially after they had such a stellar Euro 2016 under Antonio Conte.
The last time Italy needed a playoff to get to the World Cup was in 1997 against Russia. They drew the first leg 1-1 in Moscow and edged the reverse tie 1-0 in Naples to seal progress to France’98. The solitary Italian survivor from that playoff is veteran Gigi Buffon, who made his debut in Moscow and is seeking to appear in his 6th and final World Cup next summer.
When the draws for the World Cup were made, Italy were not expected to top their group ahead of Spain, but the nature of some of their results- a chastening 3-0 loss in Madrid to La Furia Roja, and 1-0 and 1-1 results at home against Israel and Macedonia respectively, has seen public pressure mount on the 69 year old Ventura, who is being seen as tactically inept in comparison to his predecessor Conte.
The Azzurri are expected to a field a 3-5-2 at the Friends Arena, but that system is unlikely to have space for talented Napoli star Lorenzo Insigne. West Ham flop Simone Zaza (he of dancing penalty fame), and now enjoying a new lease of life at the Mestalla with Valencia, is likely to spearhead the attack with Ciro Immobile.
For Sweden to get to the playoffs was a minor victory in itself. They did it without talismanic superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, finished ahead of the Netherlands and even managed a come from behind win over leaders France in qualifying.
The Swedes, who are bidding to reach their first World Cup since 2006, went unbeaten at home in qualifying, and will be keen to make home advantage count. However Italy have not lost to Sweden since 1998 (including a 1-0 win at Euro 2016), which sees the home side start as 23/10 underdogs, with the Azzuri being quoted at 13/10 at the time of writing. If you, like us, love sports and bonuses, this match might be worth putting a few quid on. The home side’s hopes will mainly rest on the trio of Emil Forsberg, Ola Toivonen and veteran striker Marcus Berg, who netted eight times in qualifying.
Sweden recent form
Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
Sweden 8-0 Luxembourg
Belarus 0-4 Sweden
Bulgaria 3-2 Sweden
Norway 1-1 Sweden
Sweden 2-1 France
Portugal 2-3 Sweden
Sweden 4-0 Belarus
For Italy, four players- Chiellini, Parolo, Verratti and Immobile will miss the return leg at the San Siro if they are booked on Friday night. Mikael Lustig is suspended for Sweden.
Italy recent form
Albania 0-1 Italy
Italy 1-1 Macedonia
Italy 1-0 Israel
Spain 3-0 Italy
Italy 5-0 Liechtenstein
Italy 3-0 Uruguay
Italy 8-0 San Marino
The referee for this game is Cuneyt Cakir, who was also in charge when Italy famous knocked out Spain in the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 with a tactical masterclass. Sweden’s last game with him was way back in 2013, when they beat Austria at home.
Sweden v Italy– WC Playoff First Leg- 10 November, 2017- 20.45- Friends Arena, Solna
Other WC European playoffs
Northern Ireland vs Switzerland
Croatia vs Greece
Denmark vs Republic of Ireland