Italy draws, fails to qualify for World Cup

MILAN» Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades after losing its playoff to Sweden 1-0 on aggregate.

Despite three quarters of possession, Italy was stymied by a goalless draw in the second leg at San Siro on Monday.

“It’s a black moment for our game,” Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. “Unfortunately, there will be a lot of time to analyze it. The only thing I can say is that we showed few ideas and not much in the way of tactics.”

Sweden advanced to its first World Cup since 2006.

It could have been worse for Italy, as Sweden was denied what looked like two clear-cut penalties for handballs, first by Matteo Darmian and then Andrea Barzagli.

Italy had a penalty appeal of its own waved off by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz when Marco Parolo was tripped from behind by Ludwig Augsustinsson.

But the Azzurri struggled to carve out clear chances against a solid Sweden side, and of their six shots on target, only one really tested goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

“We all need to look within and find a way to bounce back,” defender Giorgio Chiellini said. “We need to get back to the level we deserve to be at.”

This will be only the second World Cup missed by Italy. The first was in 1958.

The last major competitions Italy failed to qualify for were the 1984 and 1992 European Championships.

It would be easy to lay the blame squarely on Gian Piero Ventura. The Italy coach will naturally take the lion’s share but the Azzurri’s problems run much deeper.

The rot started long before 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. It fared somewhat better at the European Championship, reaching the final in 2012 and going out in the quarterfinals in 2008 and 2016.