Sweden or Italy? Only one of the two teams will be able to participate in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This means one of them can still secure one of the last four tickets available for European teams.
A World Cup without Italy? Italy has been world champions four times. Only in 1958 for the World Cup in Sweden were they not qualified, and in 1930 they did not participate in the first World Cup. However, after the last World Cup title in 2006 in Germany, not much has happened since: Both in 2010 in South Africa and in 2014 in Brazil, Italy's World Cup ended after the group stage. In the qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Group G, it was actually clear right after the draw that it would come down to a showdown between Italy or Spain. The Spanish decided the group in their favor with nine wins and one draw, Italy could only secure second place with seven wins, two draws (against Spain and against Macedonia) and one defeat (3:0 against Spain).
For Sweden, the qualification went without their superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic. And as could be gleaned from various interviews, most players were not upset that the eccentric star forward no longer plays for the Swedish national team. This allowed the players to form into a real team again and secure second place in Group A behind France and ahead of the Netherlands. Six wins, one draw and three defeats in ten matches were enough for this. With 26 goals, Sweden was the most prolific team in the group; with nine goals conceded, only France was stronger defensively.
Most recently, Sweden qualified for a World Cup in 2006 and failed in the round of 16 against hosts Germany. Four years earlier, the Swedes also made it to the round of 16. In 1994 in the United States, they even finished third; in 1958, when they themselves hosted the World Cup, Sweden finished second behind Brazil. Overall, Sweden has participated in the final tournament of a World Cup eleven times. Before the 2014 World Cup, the Swedes also made it to the playoffs, but failed against Portugal.
The first leg of the playoffs will take place on November 10 in Sweden; the second leg will be played on November 13 in Italy.