Scaloni laments Italy’s 2026 World Cup miss: “It hurts Argentina—our brother nation won’t be there” | OneFootball

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has said the absence of Italy from the 2026 World Cup makes him sad.

Italy missed out on qualification to this summer's tournament after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in their play-off.

It continues a run of absences for the Azzurri, who have not featured at a World Cup since 2014. The four-time world champions are the first previous winners to miss three consecutive editions of theWorld Cup.

Italy's latest miss has led to calls for a restructure of Italian football. Scaloni, who will lead Argentina's defence of the World Cup in the summer, has said Italy's absence will be felt.

The 47-year-old spent six seasons of his playing career in Italy with Lazio and called the nation a 'brother country' to Argentina.

“What happened to Italy makes me sad. I have some Italian roots, besides having played there, it’s a brother country to Argentina and they love us a lot,"Scaloni said.

“Not having them at the World Cup isn’t something Argentines like."

Argentina begin their World Cup campaign against Algeria on June 17th. The South Americans also face Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J.