Italy's national football team, a four-time World Cup champion, has failed to qualify for the tournament for the third consecutive time. In a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica, the Azzurri lost 4-1 on penalties after being reduced to 10 men following Alessandro Bastoni's early red card in the first half. After the match, coach Rino Gattuso struggled to contain his emotions, stating, "We don't deserve this, it's not fair."

The latest failure of Italian football has prompted strong reactions across the country's political and social spheres. Senate President Ignazio La Russa declared, "Everything has a limit." Author Roberto Saviano, writer of "Gomorrah," pointed to systemic issues in Italian football, including corruption in clubs and insufficient investment in young players.

Tommaso Silvestri, 65, leaning against a wall near a newsstand in central Rome, reflected, "We've made a real mess of it. We had players who couldn't even find the target. The golden days of Italian football are well and truly gone." Giovanni Colli, 71, sipping an espresso at a café near the Pantheon, expressed feeling "betrayed," asking, "Not going to the World Cup three times in a row - how on earth did it happen? What a huge disappointment."

Sports journalist Elisabetta Esposito of La Gazzetta dello Sport noted that Italian football is facing a difficult period that will require a long-term strategy to overcome. She warned, "The risk is that this third consecutive failure will deepen young people's disengagement from the Azzurri. The disappointment is profound, but the country is not only disappointed but almost disillusioned. It's as if a new generation no longer knows what it means to cheer for their country."

The Italian team, which won the World Cup in 2006, has largely disappointed in international tournaments in recent years, with the exception of their surprise victory at the 2021 European Championship against England. Gattuso acknowledged the team's shortcomings, saying, "When you have chances and don't take them, football punishes you."

Teresa, 56, walking her dog on a busy street in central Rome, inquired, "Oh, we are not going to the World Cup? I don't know much about football, but that's a bit of a disaster, isn't it?" Italian football, despite its rich history, is currently grappling with deep systemic issues and nationwide disillusionment.

Source: www.bbc.com