Italian football is going through one of the most difficult periods. In the European arena, Serie A clubs have no representatives to pass the quarter-finals, while Atalanta is the only team to participate in the Champions League round of 16. But what happened to the Italian team is even more serious.
Italy has not been able to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. This is a big shock to the football background that has been 4 times world champion. The previous two misses were partly soothed by the EURO 2020 championship at Wembley, but the latest defeat has made the crisis impossible to cover up.
After the defeat in the qualifiers, coach Gennaro Gattuso, President of the Italian Football Federation Gabriele Gravina and team leader Gianluigi Buffon both left their positions. Roberto Mancini, who once brought Azzurri to the throne at EURO 2020, returned to lead the national team.
The only way to move forward is to work hard" - captain Gianluigi Donnarumma emphasized. The Man City goalkeeper believes that the team must return to their original position, and at the same time help young players integrate with the group of experienced players.
The problem of Italian football is not only in the results. After winning the 2006 World Cup, they gradually lost the source of world-class players. Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Del Piero, then Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and Gianluigi Buffon successively left the stage. When Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci retired, Italy had not yet found players capable of inheriting their positions.
According to CIES data, from 2020 to 2025, Italy only had 413 players playing abroad, ranking 24th in the world. Meanwhile, the remaining 4 countries in the top 5 European national championships all had more than 1,000 players playing abroad in the same period.
The problem is even clearer when Serie A does not give many opportunities for young players. In 2025, only 1.9% of the total minutes played in the league belonged to qualified players under 21 years old, belonging to the lowest group among the top 50 national championships in the world.
The shortage of the new generation is also reflected in the national team. In the period from June 2025 to February 2026, only one player under 24 years old was called up, that is Pio Esposito of Inter. Meanwhile, England has up to 12 players in this group.
However, Mancini is trying to open the door for young talents. The newly called list includes 34 players, including 9 who have never worn the national team jersey and 11 players under 23 years old. Samuele Inacio, Honest Ahanor, Michael Kayode and Pio Esposito are names expected to become part of the new generation.
Donnarumma also believes that the combination of experience and youth can help Italy find a new direction.
The road ahead is not easy when Italy has to face Belgium, Turkey and France in the Nations League. But after many years of decline, young faces may be the starting point for Azzurri's journey back.
