The horror nightmare calls the Italian team again

Italy will likely have to play a play-off to get a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

It was a meaningless victory, a match that exposed all the insecurities, fears, and deadlocks that have persisted since the 2018 World Cup failure. And worst of all: it pushed Italy once again closer to the play-offs, where they had collapsed in two consecutive World Cups.

A pale Italy team

The first thing that caught my eye after the match in Chișinău was not the scoreboard, but the attitude of the Italian players. Federico Dimarco sprinted off the pitch as if trying to escape himself. His teammates followed, not looking up at the stands where 400 tifosi had traveled thousands of kilometers to cheer him on. The image said it all: they knew the storm was ahead, and that they could not escape the shadow of the play-offs that had haunted them for many years.

Italy didn’t lose. On the contrary, they won six of their seven qualifying matches. But the journey was fraught from the start. A 3-0 defeat to Norway, a blow strong enough to oust Luciano Spalletti from his job, left Italy chasing their rivals.

From there, Italy won, but they won with tension, they won with struggle, they won without convincing anyone. Meanwhile, Norway didn’t just win, they crushed everything. 11-1 against Moldova, 5-0 in Chișinău. Two games, +15 goal difference. A gap Italy couldn’t, and probably never could, bridge.

The Italian team has not shown the strength as expected.

Against Moldova, Italy knew they had to win big to give any hope. But that unrealistic pressure suffocated them. The first half was a terrible performance: 13 shots, 9 in the box, 0 goals. Even if Postolachi had finished accurately, Italy would have been behind by the team ranked 156th in the world . It was a truth that the “Azzurri” could not deny: they no longer had the spirit of a giant.

Coach Gennaro Gattuso responded to the boos from the stands: "I don't accept the whistling. This is not the time to tell players to find another job." But the truth is that fans have reason to be disappointed. Italy is currently just a "functional" team, doing the basics, but lacking creative lightning, lacking different factors.

Federico Chiesa was left out. Young talents like Kayode were overlooked. The hopeful Scamacca had just returned from injury. These gaps left Italy in a state of indifference: not good enough to take the top spot, but not bad enough to start again.

And that half-heartedness has put the Blues on a dangerous path. If they fail to produce a nine-goal victory over Norway, which is unlikely, Italy will enter the play-offs for the third consecutive time. The previous two times, they were eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia. The obstacles that seem small, but are enough to keep Italy out of the World Cup for eight years.

Italy's loop

The play-off against Italy is now like a horror film. Looking at the faces of the players leaving the field in Moldova, everyone felt the fear.

But then again: this qualifying round was not just about Italy getting weaker. Norway got stronger, and stronger in a way that Italy could not cope with. A team with Erling Haaland scoring 14 goals, more than the entire Italy team in their first six games, is not a team that can be caught by easy victories. That was the problem: Italy won, but not fast enough, not strong enough, not decisive enough.

The Italian team missed the World Cup because they failed to get past the play-off round.

The reality of modern football is harsh: playing solidly is not enough. Big teams have to win big, have to make a difference from the start. Italy cannot do that. They cannot even create psychological leverage. They lack a moral leader, someone who knows how to push the game to a climax. They lack the Italy of 2006, 1994 or 1982.

So what does Italy need to escape this vicious cycle?

They need Moise Kean back to add to their attack. They need Chiesa back, because his pace and explosiveness are irreplaceable. They need Calafiori fit. They need Gattuso to pick based on form, not safety.

But above all, Italy needs to overcome its fear of the play-offs. Because a team that enters the decisive match with a shaky mentality cannot win.

The defeat to Norway early in the campaign may have been an accident. But Italy’s failure to right itself over the next eight months was no accident. It was a symptom of a stagnant system, a team lacking in spark and a football that refused to change.

If Italy misses out on the 2026 World Cup, it will no longer be a shock. It will be the inevitable result of a downward spiral. And if Italy wants to change the outcome of this horror film called the play-offs, it must start with itself. Immediately.

Source: https://znews.vn/con-ac-mong-kinh-di-lai-goi-ten-tuyen-italy-post1602446.html