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Italy fails to qualify for World Cup for third consecutive time
Italy, four-time World Cup champions, suffered a devastating penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica on Tuesday, marking their third straight failure to qualify for the tournament. The match ended 4-1 on penalties after the Azzurri played most of the game with 10 men following an early red card.
Emotional reactions across Italy
In Rome, 65-year-old Tommaso Silvestri expressed his frustration while reading the morning headlines. "We've made a real mess of it," he said. "We had players who couldn't even find the target. The golden days of Italian football are well and truly gone."
Political figures and public intellectuals weighed in on the defeat. Ignazio La Russa, president of the Senate and a key figure in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, posted on X: "We're not going to the World Cup. We supported them, we hoped, we even railed against a couple of questionable refereeing decisions... but deep down we feared it. In fact, we knew it."
"Clubs are corrupt and at the mercy of criminal organisations. True laundering vaults. No investment in young players, no care for second-generation talent. It's easier to buy foreign players than to develop new athletes."
Roberto Saviano, author and anti-mafia writer
Coach Gattuso's emotional response
Italy's coach, Rino Gattuso, was visibly distraught after the match. The former World Cup-winning midfielder, who took over as coach last June, struggled to hold back tears. "We don't deserve this, it's not fair. I'm sorry I couldn't make it happen," he said. Despite the defeat, Gattuso praised his players: "I'm proud of my boys and what they gave on the pitch."
Gattuso acknowledged the team's shortcomings: "When you have chances and don't take them, football punishes you. This hurts. We gave everything we could. It's a real shock."
Structural issues and generational shift
Sport journalist Elisabetta Esposito of La Gazzetta dello Sport told the BBC that Italian football is facing a challenging period. "The risk is that this third consecutive failure to qualify will deepen young people's disengagement from the Azzurri," she said. "The disappointment is profound, but the country is not only disappointed but almost disillusioned. It's as if a new generation no longer knows what it means to cheer for their country."
Esposito highlighted technical and strategic failures: "From a technical standpoint, everything went wrong. The team hasn't worked together enough. Rebuilding will require a long-term strategy; chasing immediate wins with rushed decisions won't succeed."
Public sentiment and calls for change
In Rome, 71-year-old Giovanni Colli voiced his frustration while sipping an espresso near the Pantheon. "Not going to the World Cup three times in a row, how on earth did it happen? What a huge disappointment. Everyone should resign. Give the young players a chance," he said.
Teresa, a 56-year-old walking her dog in central Rome, summed up the mood: "Oh, we are not going to the World Cup? I don't know much about football, but that's a bit of a disaster, isn't it?"
