ShareThe three-times World Cup winners can finally return to international football’s biggest stage by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.By Graham RuthvenFor much of Italy’s World Cup qualification playoff semi-final against Northern Ireland, the tension was palpable. The Azzurri were edgy, aware that a shock loss would mean something unthinkable – a third World Cup in-a-row without the presence of the three-times winners. That Italy would miss even one World Cup in the modern age was previously unthinkable. That the Azzurri have missed two in succession, sitting at home for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, is a national shame that Italy is still struggling to comprehend. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are attempting to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with all this baggage weighing them down.Sandro Tonali’s second half opener against Northern Ireland allowed Italy to relax. After an unconvincing opening 45 minutes, the hosts started to impose themselves more freely. In truth, there was never any genuine chance that Italy wouldn’t win after Tonali’s strike from the edge of the box put them ahead.Tuesday’s playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina will be an even tougher test. The Dragons pulled off an impressive comeback to get past Wales in their playoff semi-final, equalising four minutes from the end through Edin Džeko before ultimately winning the tie on penalties.By the looks of it, Italy wanted to avoid meeting Wales for a place at this summer’s World Cup. A video of the Azzurri players celebrating Bosnia’s shootout victory went viral, adding more fuel to a game that was already destined to be fiery. If a video could be pinned to the dressing room wall, Bosnia would surely do it for Tuesday’s encounter.“It’s going to be a fiery atmosphere, though if we had gone to Cardiff, it would’ve been a similar situation,” said Gattuso ahead of Italy’s crunch World Cup qualifier. “There are a lot of experienced players in the Bosnia team, Wales are very different. Bosnia close up well, rely on their strikers, so it’ll be another very difficult game, much like the one we had tonight [against Northern Ireland].”Italy’s recent FIFA ranking historyItaly has spent the last eight years in purgatory. There has been a never-ending national discussion about the state of the sport in the country with few answers produced to some very pressing questions. The failure to qualify for another World Cup would continue the debate.At first, many believed Italy would simply have to wait for the next golden generation to emerge. Now, it’s clear Italian football isn’t set up to produce talent like it used to. Serie A trails most other European leagues when it comes to affording game time to young players and this is having a knock-on effect.Nevertheless, Italy’s current squad is more than good enough to qualify for the World Cup. The team that started against Northern Ireland might not have included many superstars, but all 11 players operate at a high level. Italian football might have veered too far towards self-flagellation. Indeed, Gianluigi Donnarumma is the Azzurri’s first-choice goalkeeper and is currently one of the best players in his position anywhere in the world. In front of Donnarumma were Alessandro Bastoni – arguably the best central defender in Serie A – and Riccardo Calafiori – an important member of an Arsenal side on course for the Premier League title.The midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Manuel Locatelli and Sandro Tonali, in theory, gives Italy good balance in the centre of the pitch. Locatelli is comfortable dictating play from deep while Barella and Tonali offer plenty of energy and intent on both sides of the ball. This is an area of strength for the Azzurri.In the attack, Italy could certainly use a more prolific finisher. Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui topped the Serie A scoring charts last season, offering hope that the Azzurri might have found a new front two to build around. Since then, though, Kean’s form has dropped off and Retegui has made the move to Saudi Arabia.Francesco Pio Esposito has the potential to be a frontman for the national team in the mould of someone like Luca Toni, but the Inter Milan youngster is still a work-in-progress. It might be too early to expect him to lead the line for Italy like many of the legendary attackers that have played for the Azzurri in the past.Whether or not Italy have a team up to the standard of past glories, it’s clear they need to move on. World Cup qualification would invigorate Italian football. It would give confidence to a national team programme that desperately needs it and belief to one of world football’s most successful, and romanticised, sides. The World Cup is better with Italy involved.(Images from IMAGO)You can follow every World Cup playoff game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.The three-times World Cup winners can finally return to international football’s biggest stage by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.By Graham RuthvenFor much of Italy’s World Cup qualification playoff semi-final against Northern Ireland, the tension was palpable. The Azzurri were edgy, aware that a shock loss would mean something unthinkable – a third World Cup in-a-row without the presence of the three-times winners. That Italy would miss even one World Cup in the modern age was previously unthinkable. That the Azzurri have missed two in succession, sitting at home for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, is a national shame that Italy is still struggling to comprehend. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are attempting to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with all this baggage weighing them down.Sandro Tonali’s second half opener against Northern Ireland allowed Italy to relax. After an unconvincing opening 45 minutes, the hosts started to impose themselves more freely. In truth, there was never any genuine chance that Italy wouldn’t win after Tonali’s strike from the edge of the box put them ahead.Tuesday’s playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina will be an even tougher test. The Dragons pulled off an impressive comeback to get past Wales in their playoff semi-final, equalising four minutes from the end through Edin Džeko before ultimately winning the tie on penalties.By the looks of it, Italy wanted to avoid meeting Wales for a place at this summer’s World Cup. A video of the Azzurri players celebrating Bosnia’s shootout victory went viral, adding more fuel to a game that was already destined to be fiery. If a video could be pinned to the dressing room wall, Bosnia would surely do it for Tuesday’s encounter.“It’s going to be a fiery atmosphere, though if we had gone to Cardiff, it would’ve been a similar situation,” said Gattuso ahead of Italy’s crunch World Cup qualifier. “There are a lot of experienced players in the Bosnia team, Wales are very different. Bosnia close up well, rely on their strikers, so it’ll be another very difficult game, much like the one we had tonight [against Northern Ireland].”Italy’s recent FIFA ranking historyItaly has spent the last eight years in purgatory. There has been a never-ending national discussion about the state of the sport in the country with few answers produced to some very pressing questions. The failure to qualify for another World Cup would continue the debate.At first, many believed Italy would simply have to wait for the next golden generation to emerge. Now, it’s clear Italian football isn’t set up to produce talent like it used to. Serie A trails most other European leagues when it comes to affording game time to young players and this is having a knock-on effect.Nevertheless, Italy’s current squad is more than good enough to qualify for the World Cup. The team that started against Northern Ireland might not have included many superstars, but all 11 players operate at a high level. Italian football might have veered too far towards self-flagellation. Indeed, Gianluigi Donnarumma is the Azzurri’s first-choice goalkeeper and is currently one of the best players in his position anywhere in the world. In front of Donnarumma were Alessandro Bastoni – arguably the best central defender in Serie A – and Riccardo Calafiori – an important member of an Arsenal side on course for the Premier League title.The midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Manuel Locatelli and Sandro Tonali, in theory, gives Italy good balance in the centre of the pitch. Locatelli is comfortable dictating play from deep while Barella and Tonali offer plenty of energy and intent on both sides of the ball. This is an area of strength for the Azzurri.In the attack, Italy could certainly use a more prolific finisher. Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui topped the Serie A scoring charts last season, offering hope that the Azzurri might have found a new front two to build around. Since then, though, Kean’s form has dropped off and Retegui has made the move to Saudi Arabia.Francesco Pio Esposito has the potential to be a frontman for the national team in the mould of someone like Luca Toni, but the Inter Milan youngster is still a work-in-progress. It might be too early to expect him to lead the line for Italy like many of the legendary attackers that have played for the Azzurri in the past.Whether or not Italy have a team up to the standard of past glories, it’s clear they need to move on. World Cup qualification would invigorate Italian football. It would give confidence to a national team programme that desperately needs it and belief to one of world football’s most successful, and romanticised, sides. The World Cup is better with Italy involved.(Images from IMAGO)You can follow every World Cup playoff game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.