Gennaro Gattuso had tears in his eyes after Italy missed the third consecutive FIFA World Cup, apologized
A teary-eyed Gennaro Gattuso apologized to the country after the Italy national football team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time after a penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica.
The playoff encounter at the Stadion Bilino Polje ended in tragedy for the four-time champions, which lost 4–1 on penalties A tightly contested match finished level at the end of extra time. Italy took an early lead, but were reduced to 10 players before half-time, a setback that shifted the situation in Bosnia’s favour.
Bosnia equalized in the 79th minute when Haris Tabakovic rose above the Italian defense and fired past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Despite creating chances and holding firm for large parts of the game, Italy could not find a winner and the match eventually went to penalties.
Misses from Francesco Esposito and Brian Cristante proved costly as Bosnia scored confidently to seal their place, leaving Italy stunned and eliminated.
Gattuso apologized after his exit
Speaking after the match, Gattuso expressed his disappointment and apologized to the supporters, insisting that the result was difficult to accept given his team’s performance.
“I don’t want to talk about anything else right now,” he said. “It’s inappropriate today. We wanted to go to the World Cup and that was the most important thing. I’m sorry.”
Gattuso defended his players, saying they had competed well despite being down 10 players and limited Bosnia’s chances for most of the match.
“The boys didn’t deserve it. We had chances and they didn’t trouble us too much. But that’s football. It’s a blow that’s very difficult to swallow,” he said.
FIGC supports Gattuso and Buffon
Despite the historic setback, the Italian Football Federation has given its support to Gattuso. Federation president Gabriele Gravina confirmed that both the head coach and Gianluigi Buffon, who now holds a managerial role within the setup, have been asked to continue.
Gravina said, “I have asked him to stay and have asked Buffon to remain in charge of the football team.”
Italy’s failure to qualify for three consecutive World Cups is an unprecedented collapse for one of football’s most decorated nations. The Azzurri last appeared in the tournament in 2014 in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the group stage.
Their last win came in 2006, when they defeated France on penalties under Zinedine Zidane. However, since then, Italian football has struggled to maintain its traditional dominance on the global stage, with this latest setback raising further questions about the future direction of the national team.
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