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.
A goalkeeper given a yellow card for coming off his line in a penalty shootout? It’s a rule that’s not adhered to much (having been recently introduced in 2016), but the referee in this Qatar U19 vs Iraq U19 Asian qualifier carded goalkeeper Shehab Mamdouh Ellethy for coming off his line, and having previously picked up a yellow, he was sent off. However the replacement outfield player miraculously saved the next spot kick, sending his teammates into raptures of delight on the sidelines
Iceland vs Czech Republic 2017 (Iceland-Czech VIDEO BELOW)
Final score and result:- Iceland vs Czech Republic 1-2 (Finnbogason/Soucek, Sykora)
Doha, Qatar- 8 November, 2017- Friendly
The Czech Republic beat Iceland in this friendly in Doha