Scars of the Past Haunt Italy as Another World Cup Heartbreak Looms

For a nation that views football as a birthright, Italy is once again staring into the abyss. The four-time world champions are on the verge of an unthinkable new low: failing to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time.

The Azzurri face Norway in a decisive qualifier at the San Siro on Sunday, but the mood is one of dread, not anticipation. Sitting three points behind the group leaders, Italy’s hopes of automatic qualification are a mathematical fantasy. Due to a vastly inferior goal difference, they must defeat Norway by an impossible nine-goal margin.

For Italian supporters, this scenario is painfully familiar. The likely path is now the one they fear most: the play-offs.

It is a route that has become a source of national trauma. In 2017, the country was plunged into sporting mourning after a 1-0 aggregate loss to Sweden, a failure that ended a 60-year streak of World Cup appearances. The Azzurri were forced to watch the 2018 Russia tournament from home.

The unthinkable happened again four years later. Fresh off the triumph of winning the 2021 European Championship, Italy suffered arguably its most humiliating defeat in modern history. A 1-0 loss at home to minnows North Macedonia in the 2022 play-off semi-final left a team of continental champions utterly broken and, once again, out of the World Cup.

Those scars have not healed. Now, the nation braces for a potential third “apocalypse,” as one journalist termed the original failure. The torment is only amplified by the fact that the 2026 tournament in North America will expand to 48 teams, making Italy’s potential exclusion even more profound.

The turmoil of the campaign, which saw manager Luciano Spalletti depart after a disastrous opening loss to Norway, has only deepened the anxiety. His replacement, Gennaro Gattuso, has guided the team to five wins, but the victories have done little to calm a nervous public.

Barring a miracle on Sunday, Italy will be forced to confront its demons in the single-leg play-offs, where a single bad night, a moment of poor finishing, or one defensive lapse could seal another heartbreaking chapter for a football giant.