Top 5 of the biggest footballing upsets in 2017 

#1 Italy fail to qualify for the WC

Buffon is inconsolable following the defeat

Italy is one of the world's greatest footballing nations, having won the WC 4 times and since 1962, they have qualified for the biggest tournament in football every single time.

Italy's presence in the World Cup was something people take for granted and even though they had to play a qualifier against Sweden to qualify for Russia, no one quite realised that the unthinkable was going to happen. Italy were going to play the second leg at home and it seemed that everything was stacked in their favour.

In the first leg at Gothenburg, Sweden, the Italians worked hard throughout the game but eventually lost 1-0, through midfielder Jakob Johansson's 61st-minute goal. All was not lost of course and a good result at the San Siro in Milan would have been enough to overturn the deficit.

However, Italy simply could not find a way through the opponents' defence and despite the huge torrent of Italian attacks that came their way, the Swedish defended resolutely to preserve their precious one-goal lead. Once the game ended, as the realisation set in that they were not going to the World Cup, most of the Italian players slumped to the ground and came to terms with the biggest shock result of the year.