The Italian national football team has failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time, suffering a playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The match ended 1-1 in regular time, with Italy losing 4-1 in a penalty shootout. This result has sparked widespread anger and disillusionment in the football-mad nation, prolonging what local media has termed a "sporting nightmare."
A key turning point occurred in the 42nd minute when Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni received a red card for a last-man tackle, reducing Italy to 10 men while they were leading. Leading Italian newspapers, including Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport, ran headlines such as "We're all staying at home," referencing another summer without World Cup participation. Fans in Rome expressed shock and disappointment, with one telling Reuters, "Everything went badly from the start."
The defeat has triggered a political and administrative crisis. Italy's Sport Minister, Andrea Abodi, called for the resignation of Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina. In a statement, Abodi said, "It's clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC." Gravina, however, refused to step down, though a board meeting next week will determine his fate.
Tensions escalated as Gravina, speaking after the loss, lashed out at what he perceived as a lack of state support for football, derogatorily referring to other sports as "amateur" and "state sports." Minister Abodi, who serves in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, countered by stating, "I believe it is a mistake to deny responsibility for the third missed World Cup qualification and accuse the institutions of a presumed failure while downplaying the importance and professionalism of other sports." This sparked backlash from athletes in other disciplines.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi lamented the elimination, stating, "It's a sign that Italian football has failed. Football isn't just entertainment in our country; it's part of our culture and national identity." The Azzurri last qualified for the World Cup in 2014, and this latest failure underscores deep systemic issues within Italian football, from on-field performance to leadership disputes, leaving the nation to grapple with its diminished status on the global stage.
Source: www.aljazeera.com