10th Nov 2017 | International
Swede Dreams Are Made Of This
Janne Andersson's team were imperious at home in qualifying. They beat France and scored 18 times in 5 unbeaten matches. The Azzurri have been unconvincing since Spain destroyed them 3-0.
Italy may not have missed out on a World Cup since 1958 but that isn’t enough of a reason for Sweden to be 14/5 shots (Bet365) to win the first leg of this play-off in Stockholm.
The reality is that the Scandinavians competed strongly in Group A of qualifying, beating France at the Friends Arena and finishing ahead of the Dutch. They are unbeaten in seven games on their own patch in total.
Meanwhile the Azzurri have laboured from the moment they lost 3-0 at the Bernabeu in September. There’s no shame in losing to Spain but the manner of the capitulation has heaped pressure on coach Ventura.
The questions raised in Madrid were hardly answered by subsequent 1-0 victories over Israel and Albania and the the home draw with Macedonia created fresh derision.
It might all be different at the San Siro, but I expect Italy to be playing catch-up on Monday.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 07:36 10th Nov, 2017 but subject to change