What happened to Italy? – From 2006 World Cup winners to missing the 2022 tournament

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Whereas trying by the teams for the 2022 World Cup, you’ll have requested your self, “the place’s Italy?” The four-time World Cup winners gained’t be in Qatar this November and December, after lacking out on qualification to the match.

It appears virtually unthinkable for many soccer followers. How may a four-time World Cup winner and soccer powerhouse not be on the match? Nicely, it’s attainable and Italy have proven their vincibility over the past 15 years.

The World Cup hasn’t been type to Italy since their 2006 win. The crew got here out of nowhere in Germany that summer season to defeat France on penalties 5-3. The match was an epic encounter, with Italy’s Marco Materazzi scoring within the nineteenth minute to cancel out an earlier Zinedine Zidane penalty objective.

The 2 goalscorers would come collectively in a while for one of the well-known moments in soccer historical past. Zidane headbutted Materazzi within the chest, sending the defender to the bottom and the French famous person to the showers. It was Zidane’s last-ever match.

The World Cup win got here on the heels of Calciopoli, a scandal in Italian soccer that noticed “beneficial” referees oversee matches for the massive golf equipment. The scandal rocked Italian soccer and the 2006 World Cup win was a solution to win the followers again over.

The Azzurri’s World Cup win ushered in a interval of stagnation on the match. In 2010, Italy completed twenty sixth out of 32 groups and exited on the group stage. One other group stage exit occurred 4 years later, as Italy ended the match twenty second.

Italy gained the 2021 UEFA European Championship with a surprising efficiency. A penalty shootout victory over hosts England gave Italy their first trophy since 2006.

But, simply months later, the Azzurri didn’t make the 2022 World Cup. Roberto Mancini’s crew completed second behind Switzerland in qualifying with 16 factors from eight video games.

The Azzurri couldn’t flip attracts into wins posting a document of 4W-4D-4L. Switzerland posted 18 factors from the 24 on provide.

Italy’s second-place end despatched them into the playoffs. There, the wheels got here off. The Azzurri have been heavy favourites to defeat North Macedonia. With the sport set for further time, North Macedonia’s Aleksandar Trajkovski scored within the second minute of stoppage time.

Mancini’s crew of ageing veterans and stable Serie A stars simply couldn’t recover from the road. A win in opposition to North Macedonia wouldn’t have assured World Cup soccer. Italy would have wanted to defeat Portugal in one other playoff to make the finals.

Remarkably, Italy already rebounded from their poor World Cup qualifying marketing campaign. They gained their UEFA Nations League 2022-23 group and can now play within the semifinals of the competitors.

Mancini is probably not accountable for the following World Cup cycle by the point it begins. Proper now, he does look more likely to stay with the nationwide crew. Italy might want to discover methods to win matches to make the 2026 match.

Nonetheless, it is probably not that necessary for the match in North America. FIFA will develop the World Cup to 48 groups.