European champions Italy have missed the chance to qualify automatically for the 2022 World Cup after playing out a goalless draw away against Northern Ireland on Monday night.
Roberto Mancini's men needed to at least match Switzerland's result against Bulgaria to finish top of Group C, however the Azzurri were frustrated in Belfast, while the Swiss cruised to a 4-0 victory on home soil.
The four-time world champions, who were eliminated by Sweden in the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup, are now forced to compete at this stage once again to try and book their place at next year's tournament in Qatar.
#WCQ 🌍#IrlandaDelNordItalia 0️⃣-0️⃣
— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) November 15, 2021
📋 Gli #Azzurri non passano a #Belfast e si giocheranno ai playoff la qualificazione al Mondiale#Nazionale 🇮🇹 #NIRITA #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/OmgPbI1rHA
Italy dominated the game at Windsor Park with 72% possession and 12 shots on goal – three times as many as the hosts – however, Ian Baraclough's men held firm to claim a point against the Euro 2020 winners.
The deadlock was nearly broken by the Green and White Army three minutes after half time when George Saville's close-range effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Northern Ireland then came close on two more occasions in the final 10 minutes, however a low-driven strike from Stuart Dallas fizzed narrowly wide of the left-hand post, before Conor Washington's tame effort in stoppage time was cleared off the line by Leonardo Bonucci.
Four draws in their final five World Cup qualifiers have proven costly for the Azzurri, who will now have to wait until November 26 to find out who they will face in the playoffs, which will commence in March 2022.
Italy are one of four European nations, along with Portugal, Russia and Scotland who have been handed a home semi-final, though their potential opponents are yet to be confirmed with the UEFA qualifiers to conclude on Tuesday night.
Oliver Thomas
