With the Azzurri on the brink of humiliation, it has become clear that the country’s rotten footballing foundations need to be uprooted
Forget North Korea in 1966. Forget South Korea in 2002. Forget New Zealand in 2010. Italy failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup will be the biggest embarrassment in the country's history.
Whatever happens on Monday night against Sweden at San Siro, it is clear that Italian football is broken. There needs to be a revolution.
Italy coach Giampiero Ventura has received most of the blame for the World Cup qualification fiasco - and understandably so.