Italy misses the World Cup after a draw against Sweden

Despite having great players in their squad such as Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Belotti, and Alessandro Florenzi, Italy missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia after drawing with Sweden in the European play-off. One of the players who spoke after the failure of Giampiero Ventura's team was the German and Bayern Munich former star, Michael Ballack.

Through Twitter, he expressed his joy about the fact that Italy's absence leaves the path clear for his country to repeat as World Champions. "Germany world champion now?" was what the former midfielder wrote on the social network.

However, this did not sit well with the fans of the Italian National Team. They quickly responded to Ballack and also reminded him of some of the failures he had with his own country's team.

Some responded with images of the match between the 'azzurri' and Germany in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup. The Italians won 2-0 and reached the final, which they eventually won on penalties against France.

On the other hand, Paolo Cannavaro, brother of Fabio, strongly criticized the entire Italian component following the World Cup failure. "This started to be lost 15 years ago when they brought in players from outside," he said on Instagram.