When Fabio Cannavaro hoisted his golden medal aloft world cup When the trophy was presented inside Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in 2006, few could have imagined that soccer’s biggest event would cause so much pain. Italy Over the next 20 years.
In 2010, the Azzurri had a disastrous title defense, failing to even win a game in an embarrassing group stage exit. In 2014, Luis Suarez bit Italy’s defender Giorgio Chiellini, and Uruguay were defeated by a goal, and they again failed to advance to the finals.
As for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, the Italians didn’t even qualify and were eliminated in the European play-offs, a complete humiliation for the soccer-mad nation.
no wonder the country is in crisis this week.
Italy are back in the World Cup playoffs, one of 16 European teams vying for the continent’s final four spots for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The World Cup was held on an unprecedented scale, expanding to 48 countries, including 16 from Europe. Still, Italy will have to enter through the back door, which is an ugly sight for a player who is a four-time world champion and a traditional hotbed of the sport.
Northern Ireland face Italy in Bergamo in Thursday’s play-off semi-finals across Europe. If they win that – and the Azzurri are heavy favorites – they will need to beat either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance to the World Cup.
Italy will definitely be a big topic in the playoffs. There are a few more things to note.
Sweden stripped of big names
It’s a critical moment for Graham Potter.
The former Chelsea and West Ham coach was hired by Sweden last year. Initially, it was a short-term contract And there’s only one mission. Get your team into the World Cup.
That has yet to be determined, but it is clear that Potter has done enough in the meantime to impress the Federation that handed him over. Contract until 2030 last week.
It’s quite a show of support for Potter ahead of Sweden’s play-off against war-torn Ukraine in the neutral territory of Valencia, Spain. The winner will host Poland or Albania next week.
Unfortunately for Potter, not all the big names will be available as Premier League stars Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski are injured.
Ukraine still holds away games
Exactly four years ago, Ukraine missed out on a World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final scheduled for Scotland in the midst of chaos just weeks after a full-scale invasion by Russian forces.
Ukraine ultimately won 3-1 against Glasgow in June 2022, but lost the play-off final in Wales four days later thanks to a goal from Gareth Bale.
Ukraine returned to the playoffs after four years in which they were unable to host matches on their soil due to Russian airstrikes. Russia remains banned from international soccer.
Last chance for Lewandowski?
It’s always risky to cut short the career of a top soccer player – Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, is likely to head to the World Cup at the age of 41 – but this could be Robert Lewandowski’s last chance at a World Cup.
The 37-year-old Barcelona striker was briefly absent from the Polish national team last year, when he was stripped of his captaincy by then-coach Michal Probies and ruled out. Mr. Probies resigns After Poland lost to Finland without Lewandowski, Lewandowski immediately returned to the team In August, he was appointed under new coach Jan Urban.
Poland’s all-time top scorer also regained his captain’s armband.
Lewandowski recently wore a protective mask on his face during matches after suffering a fractured left orbit.
Kosovo was tough
Lee
Kosovo is two games away from the World Cup, but it has been less than 10 years since the national team was dropped from the international football family.
It was in May 2016 that Kosovo and Gibraltar were voted in as FIFA’s 210th and 211th member federations. It was eight years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, a move that has yet to be approved by dozens of United Nations member states.
Also, players with family ties to Kosovo can now declare their participation in the team. Valon Berisha is still playing in Kosovo 10 years after his 20-game career ended in Norway.
Kosovo are now in their third attempt to qualify for the Men’s World Cup, guided by German coach Franco Foda, into the European qualifying play-off semi-finals in Slovakia on Thursday. Last year, Switzerland won, finishing second in the qualifying group ahead of Slovenia and Sweden.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams, as Slovakia is among the five European Union member states that do not recognize Kosovo. Spain is different.
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