After finishing second in Group G behind Spain, Italy will now face Sweden in the World Cup play-off. The first leg will be played at the “Friends Arena” in Solna on 10th November( kick-off at 20.45 CET), while the second will take place at the “Giuseppe Meazza” stadium in Milan on 13th November (kick-off at the same time).
Head coach Gian Piero Ventura will announce his squad tomorrow. The players will meet in Coverciano on Sunday 5th November and will train there until Thursday, when the Azzurri will depart for Stockholm. The day after the match, they will head back to Milan and train for the second leg at the Suning Centre in Appiano Gentile.
It will be Italy’s 57th game in Milan, where they also made their official debut on 15th May 1910 in a 6-2 win against France. The Azzurri also played their first match with their iconic blue shirt in Milan one year later. Italy have faced 23 opponents so far in the Lombardy capital, picking up 37 wins, 17 draws and losing just twice, with an average of 2.28 points per game (128 points in 56 matches). Rome (58) is the only city in Italy to have hosted the Azzurri more often, but it’s in Milan that they have won more (37 times, ahead of Rome with 34 and Turin with 24) and scored more (139 goals, ahead of Rome with 105 and Turin with 78). In terms of World Cup qualifiers, Italy have won seven games out of seven in Milan, all of them at the “Giuseppe Meazza/San Siro” stadium.
Sweden have won one Olympic Gold in 1948, finished runners-up at the 1958 World Cup and third at the 1950 and 1994 events. They have taken part in 11 World Cups in total, but missed the last two. The Scandinavians are currently 25th in the FIFA Rankings. Sweden finished runners-up in qualifying Group A, behind France and ahead of the Netherlands. Italy and Sweden have faced each other on 23 occasions, four of which were in Milan, with the Azzurri boasting a positive record of 11 wins, six draws and six defeats (three wins and one draw in Milan). Italy last lost to Sweden in 1998, and are undefeated since 2000 (four wins and one draw in the last five encounters).
Russia 2018 World Cup play-off
Sweden vs. Italy
Friends Arena, Solna, 10th November 2017, 20:45 CET
Italy vs. Sweden
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, 13th November 2017, 20:45 CET
Media Schedule
****
Saturday 4th November
Squad Announcement
Sunday 5th November
Arrival by 24:00 CET at Coverciano
Monday 6th November
13:30 Coach’s press conference
15:30 Training (First 15 minutes open to press)
Tuesday 7th November
13:00 Players’ press conference (players)
15:00 Training (First 15 minutes open to press)
Wednesday 8th November
10:00 Training (Closed to press)
13:30 Players’ press conference
15:30 Training (Closed to press)
Thursday 9th November
10:00 Training MD-1 (First 15 minutes open to press)
16:20 Flight from Florence to Stockholm
19:20 Arrive in Stockholm and travel to Friends Arena
19:45 Inspect pitch
20:00 Press Conference MD-1 (Coach and one player)
Friday 10th November
20:45 Sweden vs. Italy
Media activities and return to hotel to follow
Saturday 11th November
10:45 Travel to Stockholm airport
11:45 Fly to Milan Malpensa
14:40 Land at Milan Malpensa and transfer to Suning Centre in Appiano Gentile
16:00 Training (closed to press)
Sunday 12th November
13:45 Press conference MD-1 (Coach and one player)**
15:00 Training MD-1 (First 15 minutes open to press)**
Monday 13th November
20:45 Italy vs. Sweden
Media activities to follow
** Reserved to accredited media for the Italy vs. Sweden match. The FIGC will allow access to the Suning Centre according to the number of places available.