When FIFA opted to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, it opened the door for plenty of national teams to qualify for the world’s biggest stage for the first time. It also theoretically should have meant a less stressful qualification run for the sport’s best teams.
Italy, though, has showed that no World Cup is guaranteed.
After qualifying for every World Cup since 1958, the Azzurri are stuck in a disastrous run of qualifying struggles. Italy shockingly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and followed that up with another qualifying failure for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But even in an expanded World Cup, UEFA presents a brutally difficult qualifying path. And if you don’t win your group, the qualifying play-off can mean absolute chaos. In Italy’s case, it was a third straight missed World Cup despite being FIFA’s ninth-ranked team.
ITALY FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR A THIRD STRAIGHT WORLD CUP 🤯
Wisconsin-born Esmir Bajraktarevic scores the spot kick to send Bosnia and Herzegovina to the big dance, breaking Italian hearts and enshrining his special place in Bosnian ones 🇧🇦pic.twitter.com/69eCM1uafy
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) March 31, 2026
Back in March, Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in penalties, which sent Italy home for yet another World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina reached the World Cup for just the second time in the nation’s history and the first since 2014 in Brazil.
Amid the war with Iran, a U.S. envoy did float the idea of replacing Iran with Italy in the World Cup. Italy flat-out rejected the idea because the spot was not earned on the field. Iran will participate in the World Cup with a base camp in Mexico.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn’t 9th-ranked Italy playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
