Gianluigi Buffon confirms Italy’s immediate plan after disastrous World Cup qualifying failure | OneFootball

Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed that he and Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso will remain in charge of the side until at least June despite the failure to qualify for a third World Cup in a row.

Italy endured more World Cup playoff heartbreak on Tuesday evening as they were beaten on penalties by Bosnia and Herzegovina as the Easter European side qualified for this summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico at the expense of the Azzurri – who haven’t appeared at the global showpiece since 2014 and haven’t advanced beyond the group stage since their most recent triumph in 2006.

Italy players were left in tears as the four-time champions became the first former winners to miss three finals in a row, although they had looked to be headed to the World Cup when Moise Kean curled them into an early lead in Zenica.

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Gianluigi Buffon confirmed the short-term plans for Italy after defeat to Bosnia (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

However, Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for bringing down Amar Memic as last man in the 42nd minute and Bosnia – who beat Wales in a shoot-out in the playoff semi-final last week – made their man advantage count when Haris Tabakovic bundled in after a goalmouth scramble to force extra time.

The game eventually went to penalties and misses from Francesco Esposito and Bryan Cristante proved costly in a shootout defeat that understandably had Italian newspapers on Wednesday morning screaming for an overhaul of Italian football.

Head coach Gattuso, who replaced the sacked Luciano Spalletti in June 2025, and technical delegate Buffon could well be on the way out after failure to reach the World Cup, although Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina has asked them to stay in charge for the time being as the situation remains fluid.

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Time appears to be ticking on the reign of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso (REUTERS)

And the 48-year-old Buffon, who won a record 176 caps for Italy during his playing career, confirmed the situation until June.

“This is a delicate moment, and we need to take the necessary time to make the right evaluations,” Buffon explained in a post-match press conference.

“Clearly, the sporting season ends in June, so until then it is only right and fair for us to be available to the Federation, the president, and all those who had faith in me.”

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Italy were left distraught after missing out on the World Cup (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The Azzurri fought hard after going down to 10 men against Bosnia and had chances to win the match, an attitude that hadn’t always been present under previous coach Spalletti.

“If you realised something is changing and improving, then I am very happy, because that was one of the objectives we set,” added Buffon. “But clearly the most important objective was to go to the World Cup.

“This is something that truly hurts and that means we run the risk of not thinking clearly, so I will stop there. We’ll be here until June, then we’ll see for the rest how the whole thing is tackled.”

In his press conference, Gravina pointed to the improved approach of the players under Gattuso and Buffon as a positive, although he hinted that he will call presidential elections next week and any change of leader at the Italian Football Federation could precipitate a change of coach.

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Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina (left) could also lose his job (REUTERS)

“Our state of mind is fairly self-evident, especially considering the way the result developed,” said Gravina. “Allow me to compliment the lads, who have grown in leaps and bounds over the last few months. Many of you were unable to fully appreciate the atmosphere created lately.

“We wanted to give our fans joy, and I want to compliment Rino Gattuso. He is a great coach, I asked him to remain along with Gigi Buffon, in charge of this team.

“There is a Federal Council, I already decided to call a meeting next week, and that is when there will be evaluations. I understand that people will call for my resignation, but there is a suitable situation to do that.

“Next week we will make much deeper reflections on the situation, because the questions you ask require the right place to respond. The Federation has to decide how to choose and build its team. We can only do with what we have at our disposal in the league.”