Italy has yet again missed out on a World Cup spot, three in total (1958, 2018, 2022) and two in a row. This is a big blow for all the Azzurri fans scattered across the continents as they wanted their favourite team to make an indelible impact in 2022 after failing to qualify for the quadrennial event in 2018. However, Italy is not the only team to endure such disappointments as several other high profile teams have failed to qualify for the tournament previously. Now, it won’t be inappropriate to put the spotlight on some celebrated teams that were unable to make it to the all-important soccer carnivals in the past.
Chile in 2018
Indeed, the Chile team is no longer the potent force it used to be, but its failure to book a spot in the 2018 World Cup was still unforgivable. Chile no longer have the privilege of the services of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, the golden generation of Country’s football, yet they made it to the knockouts of the two World Cups prior to 2018 and won the two editions of the Copa America before the Russian carnival of 2018. Alas, three losses in the last four qualifiers put paid to all their hopes to make it to Moscow in 2018.
Hungary In 1970
The Hungarian delight of the 1950s was over, yet they marched to the quarters of the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. It secured the Yellow metal in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and even stormed into the semis of Euro 1972. However, Hungary failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup because of the defeat they suffered at the hands of Czechoslovakia in the playoff.
Mexico In 1974 & 82
It so happened that Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) had just a sole spot at the 16-team 1974 FIFA edition in West Germany. But that is hardly an excuse for Mexico to mess up their qualification prospects. They managed a third-place finish at the 1973 CONCACAF Championships and Haiti boarded the flight to West Germany. Mexico even failed to qualify for the 82 edition as they failed to break into the top two spots in the CONCACAF Championship of 1981.
France In 1990 & 94
In the 1982 and 1986 FIFA WC editions, France finished fourth and third respectively. It was evident that some heads will be on the line but still, the country could not arrest its slide of fortunes. They began on an ordinary note, a 1-1 draw in the qualifying campaign, which brought Michel Platini into the playing XI. But the move hardly paid dividends as France continued its horrendous run. In the following matches, they were beaten by Yugoslavia and Scotland and then had to contend with draws against Yugoslavs and Norway, throwing all their chances to qualify for the 90’s event in Italy out of the window. Eventually, France ended up third in the five-team group. They also failed to qualify for the 1994 event in the US when they lost to Israel and Bulgaria in the qualifiers.
Argentina In 1970
Argentina also lost out a World Cup berth in 1970. All was not well in the Argentinean federation back then with four different managers in a span of three years. Argentina also did not have a decent buildup to their opening two games in Peru and Bolivia, losing both of them. Still, they could have qualified, but a 2-2 draw at home against Peru destroyed all their chances to qualify for the World Cup in Mexico. This has to be one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the competition. Lately, Argentina haven’t missed out on WC qualification but are getting increasingly dependent on Lionel Messi to do the job for them.
