September 06, (THEWILL) – Although Italy could not find the goal to defeat Switzerland at St. Jakob-Park in Sunday’s World Cup qualifier, as Jorginho missed an early second half penalty, they finished with a goalless draw to extend their unbeaten run to 36 games and matched the all-time record.
Earlier than their fourth consecutive draw in regulation time, the Azzurri equalled Spain’s European mark with a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria this week. The 0-0 result with Switzerland has now drawn the Italians level with the global unbeaten record set between 1993 and 1996 by Brazil.
The record aside, the one point, of the three available, that Italy took home from the context will be considered a disappointment by Roberto Mancini, the Italian coach. Chances are that had Jorginho scored his spot-kick, the tenor of the game could have changed in Italy’s favour.
But, it was simply another one of the wasteful opportunities that the visitors squandered in the 90 minutes they played the Swiss. Presentable opportunities were created but the final product was seriously lacking in delivery for Italy.
They still top Group C are four points better off than Switzerland and with two games in hand to play. But, they could very well have been seven points ahead if they took victory alongside their unbeaten record. Their coach, Mancini, cut a sombre figure on the sidelines seeing his side miss chances they normally scored.
The penalty kick was Jorginho’s opportunity to give Italy hope but it became the first penalty the player missed for Italy at the sixth time of taking these penalty-kicks. This includes only penalty-kicks in regulation time and not during endgame shoot-outs, where Jorginho also missed at the Euro 2020 final against England this year.
The Italian manager brought in the Calvary, introducing Federico Chiesa and Nicolo Zaniolo just before the hour mark. Still Italy struggled to create many more openings, with Insigne not getting enough power behind his shot to beat Swiss goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, from the best of those.
Yet, credit must go to Sommer, whose crucial saves and sharp reflexes kept the determined Italians from breaching his goal. His man of the match performance was the major reason the Italians will celebrate their record-equalling feat without the added gloss of defeating Switzerland.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
