News / Sports

Italy eliminated from world cup qualifications for first time since 1958

Tuesday, 14 November 2017 2:34 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 14 November 2017 2:36 AM ]

Italy's forward Ciro Immobile react at the end of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification football match between Italy and Sweden, on November 13, 2017 at the San Siro stadium in Milan. (AFP)

Italy have been eliminated from the world cup qualifications for the first time since 1958, after fighting-out a goalless draw at home against Sweden and losing the playoff 1-0 on aggregate.

After an even start, Marco Parolo went down inside the penalty area in the 7th minute, but nothing was given.

5 minutes later, it were the guests who were screaming for a penalty when a ball hit the hand of Matteo Darmian in the area, but the referee immediately waved away the penalty shouts.

Halfway through the first period, Candreva unleashes a rocket of a shot but couldn’t hit the target.

Early in the second half, Darmian was clattered into by Sweden’s Mikael Lustig, but the referee waves away the penalty appeals.

The Azzurri came closest to scoring in the 66th minute when Alessandro Florenzi’s shot was deflected by Lustig onto the woodwork.

With 3 minutes remaining on the clock, El Shaarawy’s spectacular effort was parried away by Olsen at the near post.

1-0 was the final result, which will most probably mean the end for Italy manager Giampiero Ventura, while for Sweden it's a first World Cup qualification since 2006.

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