Italy’s Last Chance: The Unexpected World Cup 2026 Twist That Could Rewrite Their Fate

Italy’s play-off loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina condemned the Azzurri to a third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup.

World Cup 2026 is only the fourth time Italy have failed to qualify, and not making the cut for an expanded tournament with 48 teams is an embarrassment for a nation that’s won the World Cup four times.

Italy came up against 16-goal Erling Haaland and Norway in their qualifying group and won all their other games, just about, but a play-off win over Northern Ireland was followed by a final defeat on penalties and the end of Gennaro Gattuso’s time in charge.

Italy could still qualify for World Cup 2026 if Iran must withdraw

World Cup 2026 is mired in a geopolitical situation of its own making, with one of the host nations waging war on one of the qualifiers and actively hostile to the idea of visiting supporters leaving the tournament unmolested by armed goons.

Unlike Italy, Iran qualified comfortably for the World Cup. Yet the idea of their matches being played in the United States while direct conflict continues in the Middle East is perverse, and by no means a certainty.

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