Italy's Troubled Future: Azzurri Face Familiar Story with World Cup Fate Left Undecided
- Christian Paris
- Nov 19, 2025
- 5 min read
The absence of one of the great footballing nations is a travesty alone, but the potential of a third consecutive failure to reach the FIFA World Cup would border on a national disaster.
Italian football is on the verge of crisis. How does the adage go, first time is luck, second time is coincidence, third time is a pattern. It feels all too familiar right now for the Azzurri.
20-year-old Francesco Pio Esposito ironically feels like a lonely flame in a dark room right now, where his two goals over the international break should be celebrated, rather, they are forgotten after Norway frankly mauled the Italians in the San Siro, making it Italy’s heaviest home defeat in 43 years.
Group I would remain in Norway’s control if not for an Italy win with a ridiculous scoreline. The visitors had a +17 advantage and were the top scorers of the qualifiers, by a distance.
If the outcome was essentially concluded before the whistle was blown, then why the outcry?
It feels like insanity to say we have not seen Italy in a World Cup in over a decade. Successive playoff appearances first against Sweden in 2017, and then North Macedonia in 2022 both resulted in 1-0 defeats over two legs, with the latter result matching Italy’s longest ever drought from the World Cup.
Norway’s dominance in their qualifying group has perhaps come as a shock to most. Erling Haaland is simply the best striker on planet Earth right now, but it was still felt Italy across the board had the upper hand.
Though based on recent evidence, Italy have been on a downhill slope.
It was just four years ago when the Azzurri claimed their second European Championship, beating England at Wembley under Roberto Mancini to seemingly reignite a spark in Italian football that had been fizzling out for well over a decade.
Euro Glory Turned into Unwanted Glory
15 years of pain. Italians had watched a golden age of the national team rapidly fade into mediocrity.
Mancini’s reign was by no means defined by guiding a squad full of stars like in the late 1990s and 2000s, more a group of battle-tested veterans who knew what it took.
Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci to name a few. The latter in fact scored the critical equaliser in the Euro 2020 final to send affairs into late night, and it proved to be a victorious touch.
Both meanwhile have since retired, and it has become increasingly clear the pair were the last of an era of old school Italian greats, highlighting a troubling theme that has crept into each squad.
Mancini was soon moved on after failing to return the Azzurri to the World Cup in 2022, Luciano Spalletti fresh off an impressive Scudetto win with Napoli was in charge for just 24 fixtures after a disappointing Round of 16 exit in Euro 2024.
Gennaro Gattuso took over the reins in June and has struggled to win over support. Once a feared opponent in his playing days, Gattuso was renowned for his fierce approach and ferocious temperament.
“Non possiamo avere ‘Il braccino’”, Gattuso bemoaned in his post-Norway presser, alluding to a common phrase used to describe somebody who is stingy, typically with money, but rather implied his players were holding back.
Italy seemed to be in a decent spot after the first period in Milan on Sunday. Bright prospect Pio Esposito was super sharp to touch and turn to fire the hosts in front early on, but a collapse in the final half an hour saw familiar issues pop up.
Now, a third successive playoff is required for passage to the States in June. Old wounds are likely to reopen, still fresh after recent failures.
With the playoffs set for March, Italy will have to hold their breath for a while at least, but bigger questions lie.
Where does Italian Football Stand?
So, how much does the current predicament at national team level reflect on the state of Italian football as a whole?
Between an ongoing manager merry-go-round, an unpredictable Scudetto race, and over-performers, Serie A is in a strange, but fascinating place. The big three are entirely breachable, Napoli remain under Antonio Conte's thrilling wrath, whilst Como and Bologna are thriving.
The national side, meanwhile, seem increasingly more lost. When Gattuso was appointed in June, Italy had split their opening two World Cup qualifiers with a win and a shock 3-0 defeat in the opener to eventual group winners Norway.
Gattuso, in fairness, won his first five and kept the Italians in contention for top spot before the loss on Sunday, but like his recent predecessors, he has had to configure a squad from a frankly uninspiring crop.
No, he is not the first. Luciano Spalletti faltered to get a kick out of the current selection. Mancini had the last of the previous generation during the Euro 2020 triumph before struggling to build on the victory.
Italy have been stuck with a two-decade striker epidemic. Ciro Immobile, whilst prolific for Lazio scored 17 times for his nation but just two at major tournaments, whilst the other centre forward of note in Andrea Belotti scored once for that matter.
The Azzurri have sporadically flipped between several options in the last decade, where the polarising Mario Balotelli shone the brightest at a major competition, scoring three times at Euro 2012 at just 21 years of age.
That tournament was the last we saw of Antonio Cassano and Antonio Di Natale, whilst the national side have not produced the array of quality in forward areas that they once had in the previous two decades.
Now, being realistic, ‘golden generations’ do not come around frequently, even for the best nations. The Italy side from the late 60s and early 70s that won Euro 68’ and got to the 1970 World Cup final included the likes of Dino Zoff, Gianni Rivera and all-time top scorer Luigi Riva.
Zoff, a veteran in the famous 1982 World Cup winning squad that also included Franco Baresi and Gaetano Scirea, Marco Tardelli and Paolo Rossi.
The finalists in 1994 included the likes of icon Roberto Baggio, Baresi at 35 with Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta defensively, before arguably the greatest spread of talent in a squad that Italy have ever had when they triumphed in Germany in 2006.
Who have Italy got to call upon now? Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a constant and has helped make a seamless transition on from Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Bastoni has been terrific for Inter in the last 24 months but was at fault for Norway’s third goal at the weekend.
Euro 2020-star Federico Chiesa has been out of the picture since and shockingly refused a call-up for the latest qualifiers according to Gattuso, perhaps a telling sign, that the current selection are not solely lacking quality.
Gattuso alluded to it, but as expected, won’t or cannot say it. This group are not cut from the same cloth, the one that bled for their country, much like their current manager did way back when.
That, in one way or another makes Gattuso the perfect man to oversee a tricky transition. His managerial track record is not perfect by any means, but his experiences, attitude and love for the famous Azzurro shirt may prove to be invaluable for a crop that desperately needs it.
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