Made history in the wrong way: the 3 Italy line-ups that failed to qualify for the World Cup | OneFootball

Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row, marking their last appearance in the competition in 2014: here are the three teams that, sadly, made history in the wrong way for the Azzurri.

Tuesday’s defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off Final has kept Italy out of the competition for the third consecutive time.

Italy fail to qualify for the World Cup for 3rd time in a row

It’s another nightmare for the country and its fans, who have not seen La Nazionale play at the World Cup since Brazil 2014, while the last knockout game played in the tournament was in 2006, when they went on to lift the coveted cup under Marcello Lippi.

Back in 2017, when the team coached by Giampiero Ventura was eliminated in the play-off by Sweden, it felt surreal that the Azzurri could miss out on a World Cup. Nine years later, it has become a sad habit.

Under Ventura, there were different rules as the World Cup play-off was a two-legged tie against one team, Sweden in that case. The Azzurri lost 1-0 on aggregate.

Four years later, the play-offs were held across the semi-final and final, and in 2022, the Azzurri, coached by Roberto Mancini, lost in the semis to North Macedonia. Had they qualified for the Final, they would have met Portugal away.

PALERMO, ITALY – MARCH 24: Domenico Berardi of Italy looks dejected during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier knockout round play-off match between Italy and North Macedonia at Renzo Barbera Stadium in Palermo, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)

This time around, Italy, under Gattuso, qualified for the play-off Final but were once again unable to qualify for the World Cup, losing on penalties to the 65th-ranked team in the FIFA rankings.

Italy’s formations that missed out on the World Cup

2018: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Candreva (76′ Bernardeschi), Parolo, Jorginho, Florenzi, Darmian (64′ El Shaarawy); Immobile, Gabbiadini (64′ Belotti). Coach: Ventura.

2022: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Mancini (89′ Chiellini), Bastoni, Emerson; Barella (77′ Tonali), Jorginho, Verratti; Berardi (89′ Joao Pedro), Immobile (77′ Pellegrini), Insigne. Coach: Mancini.

2026: Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Politano (46′ Palestra), Barella (85′ Frattesi), Locatelli (71′ Cristante), Tonali, Dimarco (91′ Spinazzola); Kean (71′ Esposito), Retegui (44′ Gatti). Coach: Gattuso.