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Italy players react during a penalty shootout during the World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Armin Durgut\/AP<\/p>\n
A n abandoned soccer field is pictured in Rome, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gregorio Borgia\/AP<\/p>\n
A broken soccer ball is pictured on a street in Rome, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gregorio Borgia\/AP<\/p>\n
Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma walks off the pitch after losing in a World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari\/LaPresse via AP)<\/p>\n
Fabio Ferrari\/AP<\/p>\n
An abandoned soccer field is pictured in Rome, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Gregorio Borgia\/AP<\/p>\n
ROME (AP) \u2014 Italy won’t get a chance at redemption for Roberto Baggio\u2019s miss in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n
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The four-time champion isn\u2019t even going back to North America for this year\u2019s tournament after a penalty shootout loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia-Herzegovina in the qualifying playoffs.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s the third straight World Cup that Italy will miss after getting eliminated at the same stage by Sweden ahead of the 2018 World Cup and by North Macedonia in 2022.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at five reasons why the Azzurri continue to struggle:<\/p>\n
Del Piero and Totti long gone<\/p>\n
Compared to the title-winning 2006 Italy squad that featured standouts like Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, there haven\u2019t been Italian players of that caliber for years.<\/p>\n
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The most expensive player on the current squad is midfielder Sandro Tonali, who was purchased by Newcastle in 2023 for about 80 million euros ($93 million).<\/p>\n
The only other world-class player is Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.<\/p>\n
The starting strikers are Argentine-born Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean of Fiorentina.<\/p>\n
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Serie A is now a retirement destination<\/p>\n
The Italian league was considered the best in the world in the 1980s and 1990s when the likes of Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit came to play in the primes of their careers. It\u2019s where Kaka won the Ballon d\u2019Or award with AC Milan in 2007 \u2014 the last Italy-based player to receive the honor.<\/p>\n
These days, ageing standouts like 40-year-old Luka Modric (at Milan) and 39-year-old Jamie Vardy (Cremonese) come to Serie A to conclude their careers.<\/p>\n
So without international stars, the league\u2019s level has dropped and that has a trickle-down effect on the national team.<\/p>\n
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Juventus, which used to provide the backbone for Italy\u2019s squad, hasn\u2019t won Serie A since 2020. And there wasn\u2019t a single Milan player on the playoff squad.<\/p>\n
Tennis taking over with Jannik Sinner<\/p>\n
Inspired by Jannik Sinner\u2019s accomplishments, tennis is encroaching on soccer\u2019s status as Italy\u2019s most popular sport. Hordes of kids are gravitating to tennis instead of the traditional pastime of kicking a soccer ball around on a street.<\/p>\n
In 2025, 21.6 million Italians said they were soccer fans and 19.9 million said they watched tennis and padel, according to Nielsen Fun Insights.<\/p>\n
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Italy is also finding success in Formula 1 with 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli winning the last two races.<\/p>\n
And the host country is coming off a record performance at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese things go in cycles,\u201d Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said last week. \u201cWhen I see us winning in other sports it gets me motivated. It makes me feel pride. \u2026 Right now our history tells us that we\u2019re struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
No song and cheer<\/p>\n
Apart from when it reaches the latter stages of major tournaments, Italy\u2019s national team doesn\u2019t inspire much interest at home and has no organized fans.<\/p>\n
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Whereas every professional club in Italy has an organized fan base or \u201cultras\u201d that supports its team with chants and scarves, the Azzurri are not backed by song or cheer on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n
Gattuso preferred to play last week\u2019s playoff semifinal in Bergamo\u2019s 23,500-seat stadium rather than the much larger San Siro because he noticed that Milan and Inter fans whistled at players from opposing clubs during a loss to Norway in Milan in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the first errant pass you start hearing the whistles,\u201d Gattuso said.<\/p>\n
Milan and Rome stadiums still in planning stages<\/p>\n
Italy is also far behind other European leagues in terms of building new soccer stadiums.<\/p>\n
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Milan and Inter only recently purchased the San Siro from the city so they can tear it down and build a new stadium in time for the 2032 European Championship that Italy is co-hosting with Turkey.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Roma is in the final stages of obtaining the necessary permits to build its own arena after more than a decade of delays so it can move out of the Stadio Olimpico.<\/p>\n
Of Italy\u2019s major clubs, only Juventus currently owns and operates a modern stadium.<\/p>\n
The lack of club-owned stadiums means that teams can\u2019t earn enough to compete with wealthy rivals from abroad \u2014 which weighs down Serie A and affects the national team.<\/p>\n
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