The Italian national team was once again left out of aWorld Cup and deepened an unprecedented crisis. After falling in the playoffs against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country assumed that it will have to wait until 2030 to compete again in the
top round.
The defeat, after drawing 1-1 in 120 minutes and then falling 4-1 on penalties, marked the third consecutive elimination on the world championship path for Azzurra, which has not competed in a World Cup since Brazil 2014, an edition in which it was left out in the group stage by Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Italy was left out of its third consecutive World Cup
The impact was immediate and transcended sports. The Minister of Sports, Andrea Abodi, called for profound changes in the structure of national football: “It is obvious to everyone that Italian football must be refounded and that this process must begin with a renewal of the leadership of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC
)”.
“The Government has specifically demonstrated, in recent years, its commitment to the entire Italian sports movement;I consider it objectively wrong to try to deny its own responsibilities for the third consecutive lack of qualification for the World Cup, accusing theInstitutions of alleged non-compliance and belittling the importance and professional level of other sports,” he said.
Along the same lines, he added: "We will continue, as we have done until now, to do what is incumbent on the institutions, butresponsibility, humility and respect are required on the part of all.Italy must become Italy again, also in world football.”
Andrea Abodi called for a profound change in Italian football
The criticisms point directly to the leadership of the FIGC, led by Gabriele Gravina, who convened a federal council for next week and recognized the delicate present: “It is a profound crisis, a general crisis that requires global reflection.”
The elimination once again exposed the structural flaws of Italian football, which has accumulated more than a decade without a leading role in World Cups and now faces a scenario of urgent reforms, with strong political and social pressure to change course.
