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Italy's third consecutive failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup has stunned fans across the globe, a historic drought for the four-time world champions that will now extend to at least 2030.
The Italians lost on penalty kicks to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their European qualifying playoff on Tuesday, March 31, extinguishing the country's hopes of its first trip to the World Cup since 2014. Italy led Bosnia for most of regulation but was playing down to 10 men after a red card and conceded a late equalizer. In the penalty shootout, Italy missed two of its three attempts to crash out.
One of only three countries to have won the World Cup four times – Brazil (five) and Germany – Italy's inability to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was the first time the country had missed out on the tournament since 1958.
The first flop was thought to have been something of a fluke for Italy, which was in a tough UEFA qualifying group with Spain. Italy bounced back to win Euro 2020 and looked like one of the best teams in the world – but then failed to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, suffering a humiliating upset at the hands of North Macedonia in the playoff semifinals after failing to win the group again.
For 2026, the World Cup field expanded from 32 to 48 teams – including 16 from Europe – giving teams like Italy even more wiggle room to qualify
Surely there was no way the four-time champions could fail this time around?
Alas, the gutting defeat in Bosnia kept Italy out of a third consecutive World Cup and will surely result in some shakeup across the federation and player pool – as well as an examination on the future of manager Gennaro Gattuso, himself a member of the 2006 champions.
Here's a look back at Italy's recent qualifying campaigns and World Cup history.
Italy won six of its eight group qualifiers, but the two losses came at the hands of Norway, which finished with a perfect 24 points and pushed Italy to the UEFA playoffs. The Italians got through the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland and were initially thrilled to be facing Bosnia instead of Wales in the final. The rest, is history.
A second consecutive World Cup qualifying flop seemed unthinkable after Italy won Euro 2020 (held in 2021 after COVID), but Mancini's team just wasn't up for the task in the end.
Italy went unbeaten in eight group qualifiers (four wins and four draws) but finished in second place behind Switzerland, requiring the playoff route again – after behing held to a scoreless draw against Northern Ireland in the group finale.
Italy looked to have an incredibly favorable playoff draw against North Macedonia at home in the semifinals, but suffered a shocking upset when Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the match's only goal in the 92nd minute.
Italy failed to quality for the World Cup for the first time since 1958, admittedly unlucky by being drawn into a qualifying group with Spain. The Italians won seven and only lost once in 10 group qualifiers, but finished second behind Spain and were forced into the UEFA playoff route.
Italy lost 1-0 on the road in the first leg of the qualifying playoff against Sweden and were held to a scoreless draw in the return leg in Milan – the first of three consecutive failures to book a World Cup ticket.
Ventura initially refused to resign from his post, but was fired two days after the defeat.
Italy has made 18 appearances in the FIFA World Cup: 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Italy World Cup qualifying flop history: How it failed again in 2026
Continue reading...
The Italians lost on penalty kicks to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their European qualifying playoff on Tuesday, March 31, extinguishing the country's hopes of its first trip to the World Cup since 2014. Italy led Bosnia for most of regulation but was playing down to 10 men after a red card and conceded a late equalizer. In the penalty shootout, Italy missed two of its three attempts to crash out.
One of only three countries to have won the World Cup four times – Brazil (five) and Germany – Italy's inability to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was the first time the country had missed out on the tournament since 1958.
The first flop was thought to have been something of a fluke for Italy, which was in a tough UEFA qualifying group with Spain. Italy bounced back to win Euro 2020 and looked like one of the best teams in the world – but then failed to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, suffering a humiliating upset at the hands of North Macedonia in the playoff semifinals after failing to win the group again.
For 2026, the World Cup field expanded from 32 to 48 teams – including 16 from Europe – giving teams like Italy even more wiggle room to qualify
Surely there was no way the four-time champions could fail this time around?
Alas, the gutting defeat in Bosnia kept Italy out of a third consecutive World Cup and will surely result in some shakeup across the federation and player pool – as well as an examination on the future of manager Gennaro Gattuso, himself a member of the 2006 champions.
Here's a look back at Italy's recent qualifying campaigns and World Cup history.
2026
- Lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in UEFA qualifying playoff final (penalty kicks)
- Managers: Luciano Spalletti (2023-2025), Gennaro Gattuso (2025-present)
Italy won six of its eight group qualifiers, but the two losses came at the hands of Norway, which finished with a perfect 24 points and pushed Italy to the UEFA playoffs. The Italians got through the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland and were initially thrilled to be facing Bosnia instead of Wales in the final. The rest, is history.
2022
- Lost to North Macedonia in UEFA qualifying playoff semifinals
- Manager: Roberto Mancini
A second consecutive World Cup qualifying flop seemed unthinkable after Italy won Euro 2020 (held in 2021 after COVID), but Mancini's team just wasn't up for the task in the end.
Italy went unbeaten in eight group qualifiers (four wins and four draws) but finished in second place behind Switzerland, requiring the playoff route again – after behing held to a scoreless draw against Northern Ireland in the group finale.
Italy looked to have an incredibly favorable playoff draw against North Macedonia at home in the semifinals, but suffered a shocking upset when Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the match's only goal in the 92nd minute.
2018
- Lost to Sweden in UEFA qualifying playoff (1-0 aggregate over two legs)
- Managers: Gian Piero Ventura
Italy failed to quality for the World Cup for the first time since 1958, admittedly unlucky by being drawn into a qualifying group with Spain. The Italians won seven and only lost once in 10 group qualifiers, but finished second behind Spain and were forced into the UEFA playoff route.
Italy lost 1-0 on the road in the first leg of the qualifying playoff against Sweden and were held to a scoreless draw in the return leg in Milan – the first of three consecutive failures to book a World Cup ticket.
Ventura initially refused to resign from his post, but was fired two days after the defeat.
When did Italy win the World Cup?
- 1934: Defeated Czechoslovakia in final,
- 1938: Defeated Hungary in final,
- 1982: Defeated West Germany in final
- 2006: Defeated France in final
Italy World Cup appearances
Italy has made 18 appearances in the FIFA World Cup: 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Italy World Cup qualifying flop history: How it failed again in 2026
Continue reading...
