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 …