Buffon calls for calm as Italy eye comeback
Skipper confident Azzurri will topple Sweden in playoff second leg and qualify for the World Cup
MILAN:Italy must not panic as they bid to avoid missing a World Cup for the first time in 60 years, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said after a 1-0 play-off defeat to Sweden pushed them to the brink of disaster.
Captain Buffon — bidding to reach a record sixth World Cup finals in Russia — is one of the last survivors of Italy’s golden generation of 2006 World Cup winners.
But an Azzurri performance in Stockholm branded “ugly and confused” leaves Italy with all to play for in Monday’s second leg in Milan to avoid failing to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.
“We need to be as clear-headed as possible to go to the World Cup,” said Buffon, who conceded a shot by Swedish substitute Jakob Johansson that was deflected by Daniele De Rossi.
“We know we’ve lost, but we have another 90 minutes to overcome this complicated situation. The first rule is not to cry over it,” he told TMW radio.
“I expect a full San Siro to carry this team through, I don’t want to think it’s the game of life, but I’m convinced that with the help of the public we will do it. We must be confident Monday, otherwise we have already lost.”
The 39-year-old added: “You have to keep your head high and your shoulders straight. There are another 90 minutes and we want to make the most of it, we are strong.”
But former Italian international Andrea Pirlo believes it is dangerous for the four-time World Cup winners to rely too heavily on the atmosphere generated by 65,000 frenetic fans in the San Siro to squeeze through.
“The San Siro doesn’t score, I’ve never seen a fan score,” said Pirlo, a member of the 2006 World Cup winning team who announced this week he was retiring from football.
Pirlo acknowledged that the team “seemed frustrated,” but he insisted he was quietly confident of getting through, saying: “I like this Italy.”
The last time Italy failed to reach the World Cup was for the 1958 tournament in Sweden.