Italy is almost certain to play in the World Cup qualifying play-offs again, having scored zero goals in the first two times and was eliminated.

Italy, a traditional strong team, is not as strong as before. It is almost certain to play in the play-offs in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This is the third consecutive time that Italy has played in the play-offs.

In the European Group I standings of the World Cup preliminaries, Norway, led by Haaland, leads the way with 18 points with 6 wins, while Italy ranks second with 12 points and 4 wins and 1 loss. Norway has two rounds left and Italy has three rounds left. Even if Italy defeats Norway at home in the last round, it will be difficult to make up for the huge gap that is now 19 goals behind Norway.

In the previous two World Cup qualifiers, Italy was stuck in the play-offs and failed to score a single goal in three games. In the 2018 World Cup qualifying play-offs, Italy lost 0-1 away to Sweden, drew 0-0 at home, and was eliminated by Sweden with a total score of 0-1. In the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off semi-finals, Italy was upset by North Macedonia 0-1 at home and missed the World Cup for two consecutive years.

Italy also participated in the play-offs in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. At that time, Italy was still full of stars. In the first round of the "Snow War" in Moscow, Italy drew 1-1 with Russia. In the 32nd minute, Italy's starting goalkeeper Pagliuca was injured. The 19-year-old legendary goalkeeper Buffon came on as a substitute and completed his debut for the Italian national team. Star center Vieri gave Italy the lead, and Cannavaro's own goal helped Russia equalize the score. Back at home in the second round, Casiraghi scored the only goal of the game, and Italy eliminated Russia with a total score of 2-1.

The last time Italy qualified for the World Cup through the play-offs was the 1998 World Cup. Coincidentally, the last time Norway participated in the World Cup was also the 1998 World Cup. Norway qualified directly as the first in the group in the qualifiers. England was the first in Italy's group, and Italy went to the play-offs as the second in the group.

Text丨Reporter Liu Yi