FlashFeed

Włochy zmierzyły się z Irlandią Północną w półfinale play-offów kwalifikacji do Mistrzostw Świata 2026, rozegranym w Bergamo. Azzurri wchodzili do meczu z idealnym bilansem domowym przeciw temu rywalowi, ale z obawami przed trzecim z rzędu nieobecnością na mundialu. Mecz z pojedynczą rundą rozgrywany od 19:45 GMT.

⚽️ Updates from the single-leg semi-final in Bergamo: 7.45pm GMT KO⚽️ WCL fixtures and schedule | Email Scott“Bout ye, Italy?” To which the only honest answer is surely: not very well. Because while Italy go into tonight’s 2026 World Cup qualification semi-final with a 100-percent record at home to Northern Ireland, they have demons, baggage, and demons carrying baggage containing demons.You see, the Azzurri are living in ABJECT FEAR OF FAILING TO QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP FINALS FOR THE THIRD SUCCESSIVE TIME, and the implications of that for the four-time winners don’t bear thinking about. And while they’re hot favourites to clear this hurdle tonight, they were hot favourites to see off Sweden in these play-offs for Russia 2018, and hot favourites at home against North Macedonia for Qatar 2022, and look what happened there. So nobody’s taking anything for granted. Oh, and those aforementioned qualification disasters were only the second and third time Italy had ever failed to reach the World Cup finals. The first, back in 1958? Well that particular blow was dealt by …The Italian national team had a hard time of it for quite a while after the war. The 1948 Superga crash, which wiped out Torino, effectively did for the Azzurri too. A depleted team made their way to Brazil for the 1950 World Cup, but only by boat, understandably fearful of air travel. Knackered and unfit coming off the ship, they almost immediately got themselves knocked out. They travelled home by plane.The 1954 tournament in Switzerland ended abruptly with a 4-1 trouncing at the hands of the hosts. Chile in 1962 was all about the shame of Santiago, though that was nothing on the humiliation North Korea heaped on them in 1966. After which the team won Euro 68 and made it to the final of the 1970 World Cup. All better, then, but by lord those two decades were quite the haul. Continue reading...