The international career of Gianluigi Buffon ended with Italy's 1-0 aggregate defeat to Sweden in a World Cup playoff tie.

Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

“It is upsetting that my last match decided we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” Buffon said. “I’m sorry. Not for me but for Italy. We blew something that could have meant so much. The only regret is that it ended like this.”

Buffon made his debut for Italy in 1997 and had already announced he'd retire after the World Cup.

“The blame is divided equally among all of us. There must be no scapegoats,” he said. “We win together and we lose together.”