Italy's troubled quest for 2026 World Cup qualification hit a new low on Sunday, as the Azzurri suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Norway at the San Siro in their final group qualifier. The loss condemned the four-time world champions to a perilous playoff route in March, raising fears they could miss the tournament for an unprecedented third straight time.
Heading into the match, Italy needed an unrealistic nine-goal victory to leapfrog Norway and secure direct qualification from Group I. Not only did they fail to achieve this, but they also suffered a bruising loss as Norway ran away with the contest in the closing stages. The atmosphere, which saw nearly 70,000 fans brave the cold and rain, turned sour as Norwegian fans celebrating their return to the World Cup since 1998 drowned out the Italian crowd.
The result cements Italy's recent history of World Cup qualifying failure, both of the last two tournaments (Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022) were missed following traumatic playoff defeats. In 2018 Failure: The team lost a narrow 1-0 aggregate playoff to Sweden, leaving former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in tears. In 2022 Failure: Italy was eliminated in shocking fashion by North Macedonia in the semi-finals of the playoffs, despite having been crowned European champions just months earlier in 2021.
Fans lamented that the repeated failures are now starting to feel "normal," with many Italian children having never seen their national team play at a World Cup. The mood reflects deep frustration over a perceived lack of world-class talent, with some supporters criticizing the national team's culture and players' motivation.
The qualifying path instability began earlier this year after a shock 3-0 defeat to Norway in June, which led to the replacement of coach Luciano Spalletti with Gennaro Gattuso. The focus now shifts entirely to the challenging two-round playoffs in March, where Italy must succeed to avoid one of the most embarrassing periods in the nation's football history.
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