Italy will be one of the most high-profile absences from the 2026 World Cup after their heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite the crushing result, the Italian federation appears set to keep Gennaro Gattuso at the helm, while captain Gianluigi Donnarumma took to Instagram to address the nation and the need to move forward.
“Last night, after the match, I cried… Today, words serve little purpose, it’s true. But there is one thing I feel deeply and that I want to share with you: after such a great disappointment, we must find the courage to turn the page, once again. And for that, it takes a lot of strength, passion, and conviction. Always believing in it is the driving force to move forward…” Donnarumma wrote.
With this latest failure, Italy has set a grim record, missing the 2018, 2022, and 2026 editions. They are now the first former World Cup-winning nation in history to fail to qualify for three consecutive tournaments.
Fabio Capello blames Italian Football Federation
Legendary former manager Fabio Capello did not mince words when discussing the state of the national team. In a recent interview with MARCA, the former England and Real Madrid boss labeled the situation a sporting tragedy.
“We are talking about a four-time world champion; this is a sporting tragedy, a disgrace. It is the worst thing to happen to Italian soccer in recent history,” Capello stated.
While fans have criticized Gattuso and the players, Capello pointed the finger at the top. “No one resigns here, and that is what’s most worrying. The first person who should take responsibility is the federation president, along with the entire board of directors,” he asserted, calling for an urgent structural overhaul.
When was Italy’s last World Cup appearance?
After being crowned champions of the 2006 World Cup in Germany by defeating France on penalties, Italy made only two more appearances on the world stage: South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014, which remains their last participation to date.
However, those tournaments marked the beginning of a collapse for a national team that has lifted the trophy four times in its history. In 2010, as the defending champions, Italy put in a poor performance and were eliminated in the group stage. They repeated the same outcome in 2014, recording a single victory over England followed by two losses against Uruguay and Costa Rica.
