The thought of four-time winners Italy missing a third consecutive World Cup tournament would have been barely comprehensible back in the day, but that’s the situation staring the Azzurri in the face going into this month’s play-offs.
Should Gennaro Gattuso's side come unstuck against either Northern Ireland in their semi-final or versus either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final, then their wait to return to the globe’s biggest sporting tournament will go on until at least 2030.
Tottenham defender Destiny Udogie has dreamt of playing at the World Cup since childhood, and is eager to find his way back into the Azzurri squad for the tournament, but knows that some familiar faces will hope that Italy's route to North America is blocked.
Udogie on Italy’s quest to return to the World Cup
“Obviously people wanted to be there for the last two World Cups,” Udogie admitted to FourFourTwo. “It’s normal as a country, they expect us to be there.
“Playing at the World Cup was my biggest dream as a kid.”
The Spurs defender has not been named in the squad for this month's play-offs, but did feature earlier on qualifying, and has not given up on being involved in this summer's tournament.
Should Italy win their semi-final against Northern Ireland, it could be a play-off final against Wales in Cardiff, something which was a major topic of conversation at the Tottenham training ground when the draw was made in November.
That was because Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson have both been regulars in the Wales squad in recent times, although Davies has been ruled out of any potential match with an ankle injury and Johnson has since left for Crystal Palace.
“Of course we joked about it – me, Ben and Brennan,” Udogie said. “I told them both that we’re going to win it, 100 per cent!
“As a country like Italy, you expect to be winning every game.”
