When Did Italy Last Miss the World Cup?

It's hard to imagine a World Cup without Italy. That's because it's been a long time since they failed to qualify.

It's hard to imagine a World Cup without Italy. 

That's because the Italians last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1958, nearly six full decades ago. 

Italy, of course, remains one of the most successful countries in history at the World Cup, winning titles in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006. 

Italy is currently facing Sweden in a World Cup qualifier playoff. If the Azzurri beat Sweden on aggregate, they'll advance to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.