Italians in agony amid Sweden’s sea of joyful yellow
Players from both teams slumped to the ground, the Swedes in exhausted ecstasy, the Italians in losers’ agony.
On a starry night in Milan, fourtime champions Italy failed to qualify for the Fifa World Cup for the first time in six decades. Sweden advanced for the first time since 2006. Despite three quarters of possession, Italy were stymied by a goalless draw in the second leg of their playoff yesterday and Sweden prevailed 1-0 on aggregate.
“It’s a black moment for our game,” Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. “Unfortunately there will be a lot of time to analyse it.
“The only thing I can say is that we showed few ideas and not much in the way of tactics.”
The Sweden players ran over to celebrate with the travelling fans, a sea of joyful yellow at San Siro.
As coach Jan Andersson was being interviewed by Swedish television, his players invaded the pitchside studio, crushing the desk in front of the broadcasters as they danced with joy.
“I cried a few tears,” Andersson said after his players left to continue their celebrations on the pitch.
The Italians looked on in shock and disbelief or put their heads in their hands. Many were in tears, especially captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who played his last international after 20 years between the posts for the Azzurri.
“It is upsetting that my last match decided we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” he said, wiping away tears. In his record 175th appearance for Italy, Buffon was hardly tested and even ventured forward in a desperate attempt to score on two corners late in the match.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Not for me, though, but for [Italy],” Buffon said. “I’m sorry that we failed at something that could have also been important on a social level. That’s the only regret I have.”
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup once before, in 1958. The Azzurri did not enter the first World Cup in 1930.
It would be easy blame coach Gian Piero Ventura but the Azzurri’s problems run much deeper.
“I want to apologise to the Italian people for the result,” Ventura said. “Not for the commitment, and the desire and everything else but for the result.”
The rot started Ventura took charge.
After winning the World Cup in 2006 for a fourth time, Italy went out at the group stage of the next two editions.
They fared somewhat better at the European Championship, reaching the final in 2012 and long before quarter-final elimination in 2008 and 2016. However, Antonio Conte’s Italy side over-achieved in France last year, when they surprisingly beat Spain in the round of 16 before losing on penalties to world champions Germany.
Remarkably, the 0-0 result was the sixth straight draw in World Cup playoffs since Sweden’s ultimately decisive goal at home against Italy last Friday.