World Cup Qualifier Play-off Second Leg: Believe in Italy's mettle!

(Baonghean.vn) - Fans of the "land of spaghetti" are extremely worried about the prospect of their team missing the 2018 World Cup, after the failure of Buffon and his teammates in Sweden a few days ago.

The 0-1 loss in the first leg of the play-off has seriously shaken the chances of the Italian team to attend the biggest football festival on the planet, held in Russia next summer. If they cannot defeat the Nordic team in this rematch with a difference of 2 goals or more, the 2006 World Cup champion will have to watch the most prestigious tournament in world football on TV for the first time in 60 years. This is a very disappointing and humiliating thing for the Italian team and the tifosi.

Observing the journey of the Azzurri team in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Europe, especially in the defeat at Friends Arena in Solna (Sweden) on Saturday, November 11, the risk of the Italian team missing the match with Russia is quite clear. What coach Ventura and his team have shown recently is not worthy of the reputation and class of the team that has won the World Cup 4 times. The person who bears the greatest responsibility is none other than head coach Ventura.

Coach Ventura is facing a wave of criticism from Italian fans. Photo: Internet

However, the chance for the 69-year-old strategist not to become the 'sinner' of Italian football is not too small. The "boot-shaped country" team still has 90 minutes in the second leg against the Swedish team at San Siro (Milan) to win back the ticket to the 2018 World Cup. The task of defeating the Nordic team by more than 1-0 is not easy but is still within the reach of coach Ventura and his team. In addition to the advantage of playing at home, the Italian team is still better than the Swedish team in terms of squad quality and the spirit of a big team.

Objectively speaking, the defeat in the first leg was due to the Azzurri playing below their ability, not necessarily because they played worse than the home team. The statistics clearly reflect that: In the 90 minutes at Friends Arena, the Italian team controlled the ball up to 64% and launched 12 shots towards the opponent's goal compared to the corresponding figures of 36% and 9 of the Swedish team. The reason why coach Ventura and his team lost was the lack of precision in their finishing and bad luck in the only goal conceded.

If only striker Belotti had headed the ball accurately in a good situation in the 6th minute, defender Darmian's shot had not been denied by the post and Johansson's shot had not hit an Italian defender's foot, causing the ball to change direction, forcing goalkeeper Buffon to submit. Of course, that is a common thing in football and coach Ventura and his team should only blame themselves. Recalling the above situations shows that the possibility of a comeback for the Azzurri against the Swedish team is quite high.

After losing on the field of Sweden (yellow), Italy (blue) is at risk of being eliminated. Photo: Internet

However, the team from Northern Europe is not an easy opponent. Although they no longer have the service of star Ibrahimovic, the force in the hands of coach Hamren is quite even. The Swedish team is now a team that mixes experienced players (Larsson, Toivonen, Marcus Berg, Johansson...) with potential faces (Lindelof, Forsberg, Claesson, Krafth...), led by experienced coach Erik Hamren. It is not easy to defeat the Swedish team at this time, especially when they have the advantage after the first leg.

If the Italian team wants to complete the goal of winning a ticket to Russia, coach Ventura must thoroughly resolve the mistakes exposed at Friends Arena, otherwise prepare to face the wrath of experts and fans of the "land of spaghetti".

History is on Italy's side, as they were the eventual winners of the play-off match against Russia in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. That is the motivation for coach Ventura and his team to believe in their chance to turn the tables against Sweden in the return match taking place at 2:45 a.m. on November 14 (Hanoi time).

The ticket to Russia for the Italian national team depends on the performance of Buffon and his teammates. Let's trust in the Azzurri's mettle./.

Thanh Hung