Image Credit – The Indian Express.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here. The top footballing nations will be locking horns against each other for the ultimate prize in world football. Unfortunately, one of the biggest footballing nations has yet again failed to qualify for the marquee event. Yes, you got it right. We are talking about the 4-time champion Italy, which since 2006 has been on a constant decline in world football.
Though they did win the 2021 European Championship. However, their performance in the last 20 years has been a sad story. In the 2010 and 2014 editions, they were knocked out in the group stage itself, which was surprising. But the real tragedy happened in 2018 when they failed to qualify for the World Cup itself. No one could believe what had happened. Everyone was in the state of shock. However, three consecutive World Cup misses prove that there is something fundamentally wrong in Italian football, which has also been pointed out by Jose Mourinho in the past.
Moreover, Italy has also been warned of being dropped as the co-host of the 2032 European Championship because of poor infrastructure. Thus, it can be said that Italian football has hit rock bottom, and it requires a fundamental change in both system and team, or else we will lose a great footballing nation forever.
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