![Italy-Switzerland race goes to last game (1) Italy-Switzerland race goes to last game (1)](https://i0.wp.com/ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/149C8/production/_121542448_2021-11-12t213655z_580256241_up1ehbc1o1hmv_rtrmadp_3_soccer-worldcup-ita-swi-report-15da3417dd5e351a4294c75514c975d80027b033.jpg)
Jorginho's last-minute penalty miss ensured the race to finish first in 2022 World Cup qualifying Group C goes down to the wire as top two Switzerland and Italy played out a gripping draw.
The Chelsea player blazed over after VAR was used to rule that Ulisses Garcia had shoved Domenico Berardi.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo headed Italy level after Silvan Widmer's superb opener.
The Azzurri hold the edge going in to the last round of games with a goal difference two better than the Swiss.
It means a straight shoot-out between the pair for top spot on Monday, with Italy at Northern Ireland and Switzerland at home against Bulgaria.
The prospect of a play-off spot will evoke unpleasant memories for Italy, who missed out on the World Cup in 2018 when they were beaten over two legs by Sweden.
Switzerland also ended up in the play-offs four years ago, but beat Northern Ireland to make it to the finals in Russia.
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High drama on entertaining night in Rome
What a rollercoaster ride for both countries.
In the space of a few final minutes in Rome, Switzerland were swung from feeling disappointed at the prospect of an otherwise superb draw at the home of the European champions to ecstatic at still being firmly in the race for automatic qualification for the finals in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Italy will have gone from joyous at being handed the opportunity to claim an iron grip on the group to floored at spurning the chance with a tricky trip to Northern Ireland still to come.
In truth, though, this was just an extreme microcosm of a superb see-saw game, that saw the Swiss charge out of the blocks and take a deserved lead before Italy rallied to claim the point their performance merited.
Widmer's opener was a belter, fired into the net from range after Noah Okafor had sped away on the break before calmly setting him up. It came in the middle of a 20-minute period in which the visitors provoked repeated panic in a usually unflappable Italian defence.
Roberto Mancini's side are nothing if not resilient - as evidenced by their only recently ended world record unbeaten run of 37 games - and they dug deep to steady the ship before wrestling back control.
Di Lorenzo's header amongst a sea of bodies from a well-taken free-kick restored parity and set up a second half that was less frantic but edged on chances by the home side, the best of which saw Yann Sommer save a deflected Lorenzo Insigne shot with his legs.
The best chance, though, was Jorginho's, but to the agony of every Italian in the Stadio Olimpico his technique and composure let him down at the crucial moment.
- Line-ups
- Match Stats
- Live Text
Line-ups
Italy
Formation 4-3-3
21G Donnarumma
2Di Lorenzo19Bonucci15Acerbi13Emerson
18Barella8Jorginho5Locatelli
14Chiesa9Belotti10Insigne
- 21G Donnarumma
- 2Di Lorenzo
- 19Bonucci
- 15Acerbi
- 13EmersonSubstituted forCalabriaat 80'minutes
- 18BarellaSubstituted forCristanteat 69'minutes
- 8Jorginho
- 5LocatelliSubstituted forTonaliat 58'minutes
- 14ChiesaBooked at 43mins
- 9BelottiSubstituted forBerardiat 58'minutes
- 10InsigneBooked at 46minsSubstituted forRaspadoriat 79'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Sirigu
- 3Calabria
- 4Biraghi
- 6Tonali
- 7Raspadori
- 11Berardi
- 12Pessina
- 16Cristante
- 17Scamacca
- 20Bernardeschi
- 22Meret
- 23Mancini
Switzerland
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Sommer
3Widmer22Schär5Akanji13Rodríguez
6Zakaria8Freuler
11Steffen23Shaqiri17Vargas
9Okafor
- 1Sommer
- 3Widmer
- 22SchärBooked at 77mins
- 5AkanjiBooked at 81mins
- 13RodríguezSubstituted forGarcíaat 68'minutesBooked at 89mins
- 6Zakaria
- 8Freuler
- 11SteffenSubstituted forImeriat 69'minutes
- 23ShaqiriSubstituted forSowat 80'minutes
- 17VargasSubstituted forZeqiriat 87'minutes
- 9OkaforSubstituted forFreiat 79'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Mbabu
- 4Frei
- 7Zeqiri
- 10Aebischer
- 12Omlin
- 14Itten
- 15Sow
- 16Imeri
- 18Cömert
- 19Gavranovic
- 20García
- 21Köhn
- Referee:
- Anthony Taylor
- Attendance:
- 45,699
Match Stats
Home TeamItalyAway TeamSwitzerland
- Possession
- Home64%
- Away36%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away2
- Corners
- Home6
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home8
- Away13
Live Text
Post update
Match ends, Italy 1, Switzerland 1.
Full Time
Second Half ends, Italy 1, Switzerland 1.
Post update
Attempt missed. Andi Zeqiri (Switzerland) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Denis Zakaria.
Post update
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Jorginho (Italy) right footed shot is too high. Jorginho should be disappointed.
Booking
Ulisses García (Switzerland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
VAR Decision: Penalty Italy.
Post update
Penalty Italy. Domenico Berardi draws a foul in the penalty area.
Post update
Penalty conceded by Ulisses García (Switzerland) after a foul in the penalty area.
Substitution
Substitution, Switzerland. Andi Zeqiri replaces Ruben Vargas.
Post update
Offside, Italy. Leonardo Bonucci tries a through ball, but Giacomo Raspadori is caught offside.
Post update
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Kastriot Imeri (Switzerland).
Post update
Attempt missed. Federico Chiesa (Italy) right footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Domenico Berardi.
Post update
Offside, Switzerland. Kastriot Imeri tries a through ball, but Ruben Vargas is caught offside.
Booking
Manuel Akanji (Switzerland) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
Post update
Hand ball by Manuel Akanji (Switzerland).
Substitution
Substitution, Italy. Davide Calabria replaces Emerson.
Substitution
Substitution, Switzerland. Djibril Sow replaces Xherdan Shaqiri.
Substitution
Substitution, Italy. Giacomo Raspadori replaces Lorenzo Insigne.
Substitution
Substitution, Switzerland. Fabian Frei replaces Noah Okafor.
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