Italian football has hit a historic low point this season. Across Europe, no Italian club progressed beyond the quarter‑final stage, and Atalanta stood alone as the sole Serie A representative to reach the Champions League round of 16.
Yet the domestic league’s struggles pale in comparison with the national team’s recent woes. For the first time in three consecutive World Cups, Italy failed to qualify—a shocking outcome for a nation that has lifted the trophy four times.
The previous two failures were softened by the euphoria of the Euro 2020 victory at Wembley, which offered a brief glimmer of hope. This third miss, however, proved to be the final straw. The 48‑team World Cup left Italy out, prompting a cascade of resignations: head coach Gennaro Gattuso stepped down, Italian FA president Gabriele Gravina quit, and legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon relinquished his role as team delegate.
"It's a sensitive subject that affects me deeply, because not qualifying for three World Cups in a row is painful, and Italy certainly doesn't deserve that," Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma told Sky Sports. The captain’s words underscored a collective sense of disappointment that has settled over the Azzurri.
In a surprising twist, the federation turned back the clock and reinstated Roberto Mancini, the architect of the 2020 Euro triumph, as head coach. "We have to work.
The only way forward is to work," Donnarumma added. "With the change of coach and the return of Mr. Mancini, our objective is to rebuild and bring Italy back to where it belongs." Mancini’s mandate is clear: restore Italy to the upper echelons of world football. The task is daunting.
The Azzurri have drifted far from their former glory ever since their 2006 World Cup win, a tournament capped by a dramatic penalty‑shootout victory over France. That triumph remains Italy’s last appearance in a World Cup knockout match, and the team has secured only one World Cup win since – a 2‑1 success against England in Brazil 2014. The 2012 European Championship run, which saw Italy reach the final, was a fleeting resurgence.
Since then, the national side has struggled to replicate the quality of the early‑2000s generation that featured Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Del Piero. By 2012, veterans such as Gianluigi Buffon, Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo kept the flame alive, but the retirement of stalwarts Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci has left a void that the current crop of players has yet to fill. Data from the CIES Football Observatory highlights the depth of the problem.
Between 2020 and 2025 Italy produced just 413 exported footballers, ranking 24th worldwide—behind nations like the United States, Japan and Russia. All four of Europe’s other major leagues exported over 1,000 players in the same period, indicating that Italian talent is no longer as coveted by elite clubs.
The scarcity of young talent is also evident in the Azzurri’s recent line‑ups. From June 2025 to February 2026, only one capped player was under 24 years old—Inter’s forward Pio Esposito—whereas England fielded a dozen. Moreover, in 2025 Italy allocated merely 1.9% of Serie A minutes to players under 21, the second‑lowest figure among the top 50 global leagues, surpassed only by the United Arab Emirates Pro League.
Serie A’s own quality has suffered. While high‑profile veterans like Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modrić and Jamie Vardy have been signed, the league has lacked fresh creative sparks. Managerial turnover has been equally stagnant, with familiar faces—Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri, Gattuso, Luciano Spalletti and Maurizio Sarri—circulating among the top clubs without introducing new tactical ideas.
This summer saw Sarri move to Atalanta and Allegri to Juventus, a reshuffle that did little to invigorate the domestic scene. Occasionally, innovation emerges from unexpected quarters.
Cesc Fàbregas’s stint at Como sparked a remarkable turnaround that culminated in Champions League qualification, while Ruben Amorim’s appointment at AC Milan has produced eye‑catching football. Such examples demonstrate that fresh perspectives can revitalize Italian football, but they remain the exception rather than the rule.
Encouragingly, Mancini’s first squad selection revealed promising signs. The 34‑player roster featured nine uncapped athletes and eleven players under 23, signaling a deliberate push toward youth. Among them are Borussia Dortmund’s 18‑year‑old striker Samuele Inácio, Crystal Palace defender Honest Ahanor—soon bound for Chelsea—and Brentford’s Michael Kayode, all part of a burgeoning "young revolution." Inter’s rising forward Pio Esposito, who has netted five goals in nine caps, joins the mix alongside FC Nürnberg’s prolific scorer Ali Zoma (20 goals in 36 games in Germany’s second division) and Sporting CP midfielder Issa Doumbia, who has impressed this season. These players embody a new generation of Italian talent eager to make their mark on the international stage.
"There will certainly be some established players. We're getting older, but we're still young, and there will also be some very young players joining the team," Donnarumma explained.
"It will be a mixture, and we need to help these young players integrate well. They can give us a great deal of help.
They're certainly talented players who need to play and gain experience, but I'm sure Italy will return to where it belongs." Italy now faces a formidable Nations League group, sharing Group A with Belgium, Turkey and France—three of Europe’s strongest sides. Yet, after years of darkness, the Azzurri need just a single spark to reignite their fortunes. For a deeper analysis of Italy’s challenges and a preview of Mancini’s second tenure, tune in to The World Football Show this Thursday at 2 p.m.
on Sky Sports News. The program will explore tactical adjustments, player development pathways, and the realistic prospects of restoring Italy to its historic position at the summit of world football.