All posts tagged: Italy fifa world cup

How an Italian legend has left a mark on a World Cup without Italy with modified national anthem routine

How an Italian legend has left a mark on a World Cup without Italy with modified national anthem routine

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Jun 12, 2026 11:31 AM IST The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway and while some of the sport’s biggest names would be putting their bodies on the line to win football’s most covetted trophy, one of the most succesfull teams in the tournament is sitting out yet again, with a fair dose of existential dread hovering over them. This is the third consecutive men’s World Cup to not feature Italy, a rather unthinkable scenario considering they are the joint second most successful team in the history of the tournament, just one behind Brazil’s record of five titles. However, there is a contribution from an Italian great that will be seen right at the beginning of matches throughout this tournament, and possibly after that as well in senior football. Regular football watchers would’ve noticed something different about the pre-match routine before the opening game of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa, and later between South Korea and Czechia. When the time came for the national anthems to be played, the full …

Italy federation seeks betting cash, youth incentives to halt decline | Football News

Italy federation seeks betting cash, youth incentives to halt decline | Football News

Published by Webster

2 min readApr 9, 2026 01:30 AM IST Italy’s outgoing soccer chief on Wednesday called for diverting betting revenue into youth development and infrastructure to revive a sport in deep crisis after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. The proposals by Gabriele Gravina, who resigned as head of the federation (FIGC) on April 2, aim to map a way out of the historic low point for the four-time World Cup winners that has sharpened criticism of the entire Italian soccer system. Gravina argued that the Azzurri’s repeated sporting failures are the result of long-standing structural weaknesses rather than short-term mistakes. His report proposed channelling part of the rich gambling proceeds linked to the sport into grassroots programmes and academies, as well as on badly needed investment on new or upgraded soccer arenas. He also proposed abolishing a ban on betting advertising and sponsorships introduced in 2018, in an attempt to curb gambling addiction in a country that is home to Europe’s largest gambling market. …

What Gennaro Gattuso doesn’t understand: A World Cup cannot be just about strongest teams and richest pedigree | Football News

What Gennaro Gattuso doesn’t understand: A World Cup cannot be just about strongest teams and richest pedigree | Football News

Published by Webster

Maybe, Italy’s coach Gennaro Gattuso knew his team would not qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup last year itself. In a rant last December that had been fished up again and circulated as a reflection of a flawed system he bemoaned the diversely unequal routes teams from different continents take to reach the World Cup. “If we look at South America, where six out of 10 teams go directly to the World Cup and the seventh heads into a play-off with a team from Oceania,” he pointed out. “That does give you regrets and a certain sadness.” In a roundabout way, he was implying that the tournament is being over-run by underdogs through easy paths while statistically-better teams are sitting out. There were factual inaccuracies. Like the seventh-placed team in CONMEBOL does not necessarily play a team from Oceania. In the end, the Latin America country lost to Iraq, from the Asian confederation. He lamented the extra berths to African countries. “In 1990 and 1994, there were two African teams. In my day, the …

Gennaro Gattuso resigns as Italy manager after World Cup debacle | Football News

Gennaro Gattuso resigns as Italy manager after World Cup debacle | Football News

Published by Parlour News

3 min readApr 4, 2026 12:05 AM IST Italy’s failure to qualify for the third straight FIFA World Cup in a row has resulted in rolling of many heads in the footballing ecosystem of the nation. Former Italy international Gennaro Gattuso’s reign as Italy manager ended on Friday, the country’s football federation (FIGC) said, making it third high profile resignation in the last two days. Gattuso’s departure came a day after FIGC President Gabriele Gravina resigned, and national team delegation head Gianluigi Buffon stepped down from his role. Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties and the ‌four-times champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups. “With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” Gattuso said in a statement. “The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect. It has been an honour to lead the ⁠national …

Italy federation seeks betting cash, youth incentives to halt decline | Football News

Italy miss out on FIFA World Cup again: The Good, The Bad, The Italy… the Worst | Football News

Published by Webster

4 min readUpdated: Apr 2, 2026 08:19 PM IST The World Cup qualification from hell for Italy, has turned into a never ending nightmare. Jokes have gotten old, coaches have seemed helpless and scapegoating Alessandro Bastoni just won’t cut it. Even talk of ‘structural changes’ seems jaded and four years old, as Bosnia and Herzegovina sent Gli Azzurri out of the third straight World Cup appearance after the 1-4 loss in penalty shootout in the European playoffs on Tuesday, after playing most of the match with 10 men. Voices emanating from Italy were filled with shock and disappointment. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso The head coach and World Cup winner from 2006, reckoned the hurt was too much. “I’m not interested at all in talking about my future today. It hurts, it really hurts. More than hurting me, it hurts to see this group which has really given everything in these months and I think we deserved to get back what we put in and I honestly think it’s too reductive and too immature to be …

The 900-page plan Italy ignored: How Roberto Baggio’s vision was lost as Azzurri miss third straight FIFA World Cup | Football News

The 900-page plan Italy ignored: How Roberto Baggio’s vision was lost as Azzurri miss third straight FIFA World Cup | Football News

Published by Webster

4 min readApr 2, 2026 07:10 PM IST Italy’s failure to qualify for recent World Cups has prompted renewed reflection on missed opportunities — none more striking than the reform blueprint once proposed by Roberto Baggio. Long before the Azzurri’s unprecedented absence from three consecutive World Cup — Italy failed to qualify for this year’s edition after losing to Bosnia in the playoffs on Tuesday — the former forward had drafted a sweeping, 900-page document titled “Renew the Future,” a comprehensive plan aimed at rebuilding Italian football from its foundations, Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport reported. The newspaper added that the proposal, compiled with the input of 50 experts, laid out detailed structural, technical, and educational reforms. It was never implemented. Baggio’s legacy in blue remains inseparable from the drama of the 1994 World Cup. On July 5 in Foxborough, Italy stood on the brink of elimination against Nigeria in the round of 16, reduced to ten men after Gianfranco Zola’s dismissal. With just two minutes remaining, Baggio, fondly called the ‘Divine Ponytail’, equalised before converting …

2025 reimagined: What if… Luciano Spalletti had stayed back as Italy coach | Football News

2025 reimagined: What if… Luciano Spalletti had stayed back as Italy coach | Football News

Published by Webster

What if former Italy coach Luciano Spalletti had not given up on the national team in its FIFA World Cup qualification bid, and inadvertently brought Gennaro Gattuso into the mix? It is very well to say that the Spalletti ship has sailed – it sailed straight into an iceberg of Erling Haaland proportions in the sorry 3-0 loss to Norway, after which the professorial tactician was so dismayed he declared his own departure. Italy play to plans, under geeky coaches marshalling gorgeous technicians at World Cups. Flair tends to be optional, at the discretion of the personnel; parked buses once second nature. But now, they go rumbling under buses like Jack in Speed. Unlike Jack of Titanic, they are mystifyingly alive still, hovering around jagged edges of icebergs, scoring an uncharacteristic 18-goal glut under Gattuso. But no guarantees it won’t sink against Wales and Northern Ireland, like they did to Sweden in 2018 and North Macedonia in 2022. Gattuso keeps press conferences entertaining, flagellates self and his players with equal gusto, has spurred them on …

Is FIFA planning to change seeding rule that could help Italy? P.S: This possibility applies only after, and if they qualify for the FIFA World Cup | Football News

Is FIFA planning to change seeding rule that could help Italy? P.S: This possibility applies only after, and if they qualify for the FIFA World Cup | Football News

Published by Webster

The sense of disbelief hasn’t left English football media, as they keep wondering ‘Will Italy really not qualify for a third World Cup?’ Fox piled on with the headline: ‘Could Italy really miss the World Cup again?’ for effect. Azzurri coach Gennaro Gattuso has joked these past few days he will put plenty of distance between himself and Italy geographically, should that wretched eventuality occur. But after missing 2018 and 2022 (worst possible year), a gloomy Sunday brought some speculated hope. Story continues below this ad Italy will still need to actually seal that qualification, sitting as they do second with a massive goal deficit behind Norway, through playoffs. But Football Italia quoted Sunday reports from Football Meets Data and Calcio e Finanza, reporting that FIFA was considering a change in seeding rule that could help Italy potentially at 2026 World Cup. Both reports were sprinkled with repeated disclaimers: “The Azzurri must first qualify through the playoffs, it’s always good to remember,” Calcio e Finanza stated. Italy need Norway to drop points to Estonia to …