UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Gennaro Gattuso insists this is ‘not the time’ to talk about his future after Italy lost the World Cup play-off to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he hints Calcio has deeper problems.
The game had been going well in Zenica, taking the lead through Moise Kean, until Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for taking down Amar Memic clear on goal before half-time.
The Azzurri managed to hang on until the 79th minute when Haris Tabakovic bundled over the line from point-blank range after another big Gianluigi Donnarumma save on Edin Dzeko.
They also had chances to win it in extra time, despite being down to 10 men for an hour, but capitulated in the penalty shoot-out when Francesco Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missed the target.
Gattuso not thinking about his Italy future
“I just finished speaking to the team. I can only thank them, as it had been years since I’d seen the Nazionale play with such heart,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.
“It hurts, it really hurts, but we must accept it. I don’t want to talk about referees or anything else, we could’ve scored a second goal and didn’t, we suffered with all those crosses, we gave everything.
“I am proud of them, it hurts to accept this verdict. It will take time. On a personal level, it’s a heavy blow.”
The situation was already difficult when Gattuso took over from Luciano Spalletti, as they lost the opening qualifier of the group 3-0 in Norway.
“When you are in a stadium with the fans pushing, we made a mistake and went down to 10 men, even then we had the chances to score a second goal. The team did what it had to do today.
“People had been asking for an Italy side that cared about the shirt for years, well they got that tonight, but the incidents went against us.”
What happens next for Gattuso after failing to make it to the World Cup in 2026?
“We’ll see, but I don’t think this is the time to talk about my future or anyone else’s. This is football, sometimes it makes you celebrate, sometimes it makes you suffer.”
This is the latest in a long line of difficulties for Italian football, as all the clubs were out of the Champions League before the quarter-finals.
“I won’t get into this controversy, I am a coach. We all know that it has been a struggle for a few years, I am not the right person to say what we need to improve, there are people who know more than me. So we’ll see,” concluded Gattuso.
Elroy Klemp
Read More