Could Italy Fail To Qualify For 2026 World Cup? Gennaro Gattuso Aims To Avoid Another Tournament Absence

Italy are still at risk of missing out on the 2026 World Cup, as the Azzurri have two more matches to qualify between November 13th – 16th.

Could Italy Fail To Qualify For 2026 World Cup?

Gennaro Gattuso will take charge of his 5th and 6th match as Italy manager, as the Azzurri face Moldova and Norway in their final World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

So far, the former AC Milan midfielder has been flawless in his new role, guiding Italy to four consecutive victories and moving up to second in Group I.

The Azzurri currently sit three-points behind Norway, but the Scandinavian nation boast a goal difference of 26 which is far superior than Italy’s 10.

Gattuso will be well-aware that over-turning this deficit will be a monumental task, as Norway have won each of their six qualifying matches – including a 3-0 win over Italy in June.

The Italy manager has made headlines in the build-up to this international break, as Federico Chiesa was left out of the Italy squad once again despite a strong set of performances with Liverpool.

Finishing second in Group I will force Italy into a playoff clash to secure a place at the World Cup in North America next year, which could be against a variety of opponents.

A place in the 2026 World Cup is far from secured, as the Azzurri may have to take part in a playoff clash at the beginning of next year.

Israel are currently third with nine-points, but have played seven out of the eight matches – meaning they can end their campaign with a maximum of 12-points.

The Azzurri have accumulated 15-points from six matches, meaning they cannot finish lower than second and have guaranteed a spot in the World Cup playoff places 

Sweden have been deemed to be the most likely opponents for the Azzurri, as they are currently bottom of Group B and have recently appointed Graham Potter.

Italians will know that facing weaker opposition in a World Cup playoff does not guarantee anything, as the Azzurri missed the 2022 World Cup after a shock defeat to North Macedonia.

Suffering this same fate would see Italy fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and Gennaro Gattuso could be relieved of his duties.

Can Italy Secure Automatic Qualification To 2026 World Cup?

However, the Azzurri can avoid this step and secure automatic qualification, but this will require a specific set of results and is out of Italy’s hands.

Gattuso’s side will need to beat Moldova on November 13th and Norway would need to be beaten by Estonia – which would leave the two European nations equal on points.

This would then set-up a huge clash between Italy and Norway on November 16th, where anything other than a victory would see the Azzurri move into the playoff stage.

Essentially, to secure automatic qualification Italy must beat Moldova and Norway, but Erling Haaland’s side would need to remain winless.

There is the possibility that Italy will secure qualification with a win over Moldova and draw to Norway, but the Azzurri would need to overturn a goal difference of 10.

When Did Italy Last Play At A World Cup?

Although Italy have won the biggest prize in soccer four times, the second-highest tally in history behind Brazil, the tournament has been somewhat of a nightmare in recent years.

As we previously mentioned, Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after suffering a 1-0 defeat by North Macedonia due to a 93rd minute strike from Aleksandar Trajkovski.

This disappointing absence meant that Italy missed two consecutive World Cup tournaments, as the Azzurri also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The Azzurri were beaten 1-0 by Sweden across two-legs and is still regarded as one of the darkest days in Italian soccer history.

Failing to reach the last two World Cup tournaments means that Italy’s last appearance in the competition came in 2014, which was most memorable for Luis Suarez’s bite on Giorgio Chiellini.

Italy failed to progress past the group stages, finishing third in Group D behind Costa Rica and Uruguay, as the Azzurri and England dropped out of the competition. 

This led to the Azzurri appointing Antonio Conte, who is now close to being sacked by Napoli, and the Serie A manager took charge of 24 matches before moving elsewhere.

Since then, Italy have brought in multiple names to take the reins, with Gian Piero Ventura, Roberto Mancini and Luciano Spalletti all failing to qualify for the World Cup.