Italy’s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup has sparked outrage across the country, with politicians calling for major changes in Italian football leadership after the national team missed the tournament for the third consecutive time.
The country of Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Baggio and Andrea Pirlo suffered another football disaster on Tuesday night as four-time world champions Italy were eliminated in the playoffs by Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, ending their hopes of playing at the 2026 World Cup.
Italy had previously failed to qualify in 2018 after losing to Sweden in a playoff and again missed out on the 2022 tournament after a shock defeat to North Macedonia.
Their last World Cup appearance was in 2014, where they were eliminated in the group stage.
Gennaro Gattuso’s team started well and took an early lead through Moise Kean, but the match turned when Alessandro Bastoni received a red card shortly before halftime, leaving Italy with a difficult task for the rest of the game.
Bosnia struggled to score despite numerous chances but eventually equalized in the 78th minute through substitute Haris Tabakovic, who scored from close range after Edin Dzeko’s header was saved. The match went into extra time and eventually penalties, where Italy missed two spot kicks, allowing Bosnia to secure qualification.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will now take the fourth spot in Group B at the tournament, where they will face co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
Italy’s elimination quickly became a political issue. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party requested an official briefing in parliament, while Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina to resign, saying Italian football needs to be relaunched starting with new leadership.
Some politicians supported the call for resignation, while others argued that the government also shares responsibility for the decline of Italian football and should investigate the deeper causes of the national team’s struggles.
The issue became the first item on the parliamentary agenda on Wednesday, highlighting how seriously the country is taking another World Cup failure.
