France, Argentina, Spain in list of past casualties
LONDON: A World Cup without Italy doesn’t feel quite right. However, Italy are not the first major nation to miss out on the World Cup. Here are some of the biggest shocks from qualifying campaigns gone by.
ITALY/SPAIN 1958
Italy’s only other failure to qualify for the World Cup came 60 years ago. Needing to beat Northern Ireland in their final game of the three-team group, the Azzurri slumped to a 2-1 loss in Belfast. More surprisingly was the absence of Spain, as a team of legends including Alfredo Di Stefano and Luis Suarez missed out on a place in Sweden.
ARGENTINA 1970
Only once have Argentina failed to qualify for a tournament they have won twice. A 3-1 loss to Bolivia and a 1-0 defeat to Peru in their opening qualifying fixtures left them facing an uphill task, and a 2-2 draw with the latter in their final qualifier meant they missed out on a spot in Mexico.
ENGLAND 1974
In a three-team group with Wales and Poland, a 2-0 defeat and 1-1 draw with the latter meant Alf Ramsey’s side did not qualify. Twenty years later, England again disappointed as they failed to qualify for USA ’94.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1978
Having won the European Championship two years ago, there were hopes for Czechoslovakia heading into qualifying for the tournament in Argentina. However, losses in Wales and Scotland scuppered their hopes.
NETHERLANDS 1986
After reaching the World Cup final in both 1974 and 1978, there was a down period for Netherlands, who missed out in ’82 and also failed to qualify for Euro ‘84. Players like Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Marco van Basten were expected to bring about a turnaround. However, they had to settle for a play-off against Belgium after finishing second in their qualifying group, and Georges Grun’s header with five minutes left saw them crash out on away goals. Netherlands also failed to qualify in 2002 and will not be in Russia next year.
FRANCE 1994
Les Bleus had failed to qualify for Italia ’90 having finished third in 1986. That failure was accepted as something of a transitional period, but a star-studded team featuring Laurent Blanc, JeanPierre Papin and Eric Cantona, was unable to secure the necessary result against Bulgaria in their final qualifier for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
CHILE 2018
A tight CONMEBOL group — with the exception of Brazil’s dominance at the top — almost led to a World Cup without Argentina. However, while Messi inspired his team to qualification with a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Ecuador, a Chile side featuring Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal was beaten 3-0 by Brazil in their final qualifier and finished sixth, without even a play-off to show for their efforts.
It’s upsetting that my last Italy game coincides with our elimination for the World Cup...
GIANLUIGI BUFFON, Italy ’keeper
Resign? I don’t know. I have to evaluate an infinity of things. I have not yet spoken to the president.
GIAN PIERO VENTURA, Italy coach