For the third World Cup Cycle in a row, Italy have failed to qualify automatically, and are forced to face the trial of play-offs to reach the 2026 competition. And, as I am reminded all too often, the last two occasions in 2018 and 2022 did not end well for the Azzurri.
Italy is the greatest footballing nation on earth, with four World Cups, historically the finest domestic division, and a cast of heroes and legends which cannot be matched. So, what has gone so wrong?
Manager Gennaro Gattuso is certainly not perfect, but so many have now tried and failed in recent years, the problem then is more fundamental – Italy’s players are not good enough.
In 2010, after being knocked out in the group stage in South Africa, Roberto Baggio presented a 900-page report to the Federation (FIGC). And their response? Ignore it entirely. Baggio resigned immediately, but the results of this break-down have been far more long-term.
We have gone from Scirea to Gianluca Mancini, Buffon to the woeful Donnarumma, and Baggio to Giacomo Raspadori. Nothing will change until this is reversed.
Image Credits: “The moment has come…” by Abdullah AL-Naser is licensed under CC BY 2.0.