Italy are World Cup royalty. Only five-time winners Brazil have been crowned champions on more occasions than the Azzurri (four).
Key takeaways
Quick scan — what you need to know:
- Italy are World Cup royalty.
- Only five-time winners Brazil have been crowned champions on more occasions than the Azzurri (four).
- And yet it's now 20 years since Italy last lifted the trophy.
- Worse still, they've failed to qualify for the past two tournaments, meaning there's an entire generation that have never seen their country even play in a World Cup.
Background
What led here, in plain terms:
- One would be tempted to go all Helen Lovejoy on it and plead, 'Won't somebody please think of the children?!' But the players already are.
- "We know full well that we are responsible for all those kids out there and the entire Italian football movement," They're also just one win away from ending Italy's very much self-inflicted…
- So, how are Locatelli & Co.
- shaping up ahead of a game of monumental importance for not only the national team, but calcio in general?
Why it matters
Why readers and decision-makers should care:
- To the entire Italian football movement.
- And, perhaps most importantly of all, the poor children desperate to know what it feels like to watch their country compete in a World Cup.
- Are Italy well-placed to bring an end to their World Cup woe?