'Italians have no memory' - Euro 2020 success will be forgotten if Azzurri miss out on World Cup - Inside Europe

As unthinkable as it may have seemed a few months ago, Italy could well be a shock absentee from the 2022 World Cup. The team who lifted the European Championship less than a year ago, while in the middle of a record-breaking 37-match unbeaten run, somehow now find themselves on the brink of disaster having failed to top their qualifying group for Qatar.

Ad/> The Azzurri finished second behind Switzerland following draws home and away against their Group C rivals as well as another shock 0-0 against Northern Ireland in their final game. Champions League'There was no fight' — Neymar denies talk of dressing-room clash with Donnarumma10/03/2022 AT 18:46 Italy have been left to rue a 90th minute penalty miss against the Swiss in Rome by the usually reliable Jorginho – who bizarrely also missed a spot kick in the stalemate against the same opponents in Basel earlier in the campaign.

Roberto Mancini’s side now going into the playoff round to first face North Macedonia and, should they progress, a showdown against either Turkey or Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. Despite last summer’s success, since winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy suffered group stage exits in 2010 and 2014, and humiliatingly failed to even make it to the 2018 finals in Russia.

UK, Ireland set to host Euro 2028 as no rival bids emerge — report Van Gaal hits out at 'ridiculous' Qatar World Cup 'He's the boss defensively' — Why Saliba is the 'future of France' Running the risk of missing out on back-to-back World Cups for the first time in their history, Eurosport Italy’s Simone Eterno looks at what is going wrong in the camp ahead of the crunch meeting with North Macedonia in Palermo. How worried are Italy about the possibility of missing another World Cup?