Italy Misses World Cup Third Straight Time – A Historic Cold Streak

Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight time.

Italy is the only former World Cup winner to have missed three consecutive World Cups. On March 31, Italy lost to Bosnia in a qualifying match.

The game went into a penalty shootout, which Italy ultimately lost. Although Italy played a cleaner game, its inability to get good shots cost it.

FIFA ranked Italy No. 13 before the qualifiers. Despite having missed the World Cup two straight times, many fans expected Italy to qualify this time. Only one of Italy’s starters is over the age of 30.

In November 2025, Italy lost a game to Norway. Despite Italy being favored, Norway won comfortably 4-1. After losing in the initial qualifying round, teams move into single-game elimination. From there, a lot of the qualifications needed to make the World Cup are out of the teams’ hands.

Many experts are trying to figure out why Italy keeps failing to qualify. Some people believe Italy isn’t doing enough to develop young talent. Whether that be not investing in youth leagues or Italian leagues like Serie A, signing foreign players over Italian players. 

However, others take a more practical approach. They believe head coach Gennaro Gattuso didn’t do enough to win. He was hired in 2025. It was clear Italy realized that their previous coaches didn’t do enough, but is Gattuso the answer? His performance against Bosnia was criticized, with fans believing he played too conservatively in a win-or-go-home game.  

Gattuso is a former World Cup champion himself. He was a huge part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup win. He made the World Cup All-Star team. Outside of international play, he was also a good player for AC Milan. He played for them from 1999 to 2012 and was inducted into the AC Milan Hall of Fame.