Swedes do Italian job

Azzurri fail to qualify for first World Cup in 60 years after playoff defeat

impossible to imagine the 69year-old coach getting another job on the peninsula.

But there are other factors that have contributed to this, not least one of the weakest Italian squads in a generation and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) being outsmarted by rivals who have gamed Fifa’s world rankings system.

Those rankings feed into seedings and qualification and if Italy hadn’t been a second seed then they couldn’t have been tossed in with Spain, ultimately a draw that condemned them to this playoff months and possibly years ago.

But perhaps that does a disservice to Sweden.

This was a side that was expected to be in a rebuilding period following the retirement of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but despite being drawn as a third seed, they beat second seeds France – who would eventually win the group – and eliminated top seeds the Netherlands.

The Dutch, much like the Italians, are destined to do much soul-searching over their approach to football when the world descends on Russia next summer.

As for Sweden, the only thing we know is that the party will be huge and that, come June 2018, they will be at the World Cup.

Whisper it quietly but there is a Manchester United centreforward who must be tempted to re-join the party now they are there.

Sweden, whatever happens, are destined for good times and another World Cup finals appearance.

The only thing certain about Italy right now is that this hurts, that this will take some time to get over and that, for better or worse, last night was a pivotal night in modern Italian football. – The Independent