Italian football boss Carlo Tavecchio had recently said that failure to qualify for the football World Cup finals in Russia next year would be the apocalypse and his — and the world’s — worst nightmare came true on Monday when the Azzurri missed out for the first time in 60 years.
Experts lamented that their defensive style of play for decades had come back to haunt them. As Reuters said in its report, a desperate 0-0 draw at home in Milan to a technically inferior but belligerent Sweden not only sunk four-time champion Italy's hopes but also ended the international careers of some of their superstars, including goalkeeper and 39-year-old captain Gianluigi Buffon who was inconsolable after the loss. In all, 32 teams from around the world have qualified for the World Cup. One of the tiniest nations to make it is Iceland with its population of a little more than 300,000. In the picture Iceland’s forward Johann Berg Gudmundsson celebrates his goal with teammates.
