Sweden vs Italy 2017 (Sweden-Italia 2017)
Final score and result:- Sweden vs Italy 1-0 (Johansson)
Friends Arena, Solna- 10 November, 2017- Friday- 19.45 UK KO
Jakob Johansson scores the only goal of the game as Sweden edge Italy to take a slender advantage going into the second leg in Milan
2:44, DM
6:24, Vimeo.com
Sweden vs Italy 1-0 (Johansson goal vs Italy 61′)
ITALY ELMINATED FROM 2018 WORLD CUP – AND DESERVEDLY SO
If you know your soccer, you shouldn’t be surprised by Italy’s unsurprising, and fully deserved elimination from the 2018 WC. Seria A is categorically the weaker league among the great soccer nations of Europe. For years, players on the down of their career, or waived out of especially the B undesliga, come to Italy and suddenly perform well. The Swiss Klose, ready for the Old Folk’s home, finds a second life in Lazio. And then Luca Toni, waived out of Germany, arrives in Italy, and wins the scoring championship at 38 – a pathetic joke if it weren’t true. Higuan, a 25 goal man in La L iga, becomes one of the greatest single season goal scorers in the history of Italian soccer — and more recently Immobile, again in single digits in Germany, now tearing up Seria A. Italy isn’t producing quality players, mere good ones, on top of which their game isn’t up to speed. They did well in the Euros because of Conti; he got the most out of the least while the Belge got the least out of the most. Not playing Insigne is like Spain not playing Isco. There’s no accounting for it.