With the elimination of Italy, there will be no dream play-off final between Italy and Portugal. The latter country did qualify for that final after the win over Turkey (3-1).
It is the second time in a row that Italy is missing from the World Cup. In 2018, the four-time world champion missed the World Cup when the team was eliminated by Sweden in the play-offs.
Italy had finished second behind Switzerland in the qualifying group. Last summer, the Italians became European champions at the Euro 2020 that was played a year later because of the corona pandemic.