The 69-year-old was relieved of his duties two days after his side shockingly failed to overcome Sweden in a two-leg qualifying play-off Gian Piero Ventura has been sacked as Italy manager after overseeing a catastrophic World Cup qualifying failure. For the first time since 1958 Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup, with a 0-0 draw against Sweden on Monday at San Siro clinching a 1-0 aggregate victory for the Swedes in their qualifying play-off. And the debacle has cost Ventura his job, as the FIGC confirmed in a statement released on Wednesday.