Missed for two consecutive times, will you return next year? Football talents are withering, and the four-star Italian glory is no longer

As a traditional strong team in the World Cup, Italy has missed the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Italy still encountered considerable difficulties. They are in the same group as Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. With the first place in the group, Italy is currently only ranked third. They lost three goals in their direct dialogue with Norway, and the chances of competing for the first place in the group are slim. Even the playoff qualification is not safe. In next year's World Cup, whether Italy can return to the World Cup stage really has a big question mark. After all, Italy's current lineup is not luxurious, especially the attacking players who lack a final word in the frontcourt. Italy, which won the World Cup championship four times, is still no longer glorious.

1. The World Cup won four times, and Italy achieved extraordinary achievements

In the history of the World Cup, the Blues had a very brilliant history. They reached the finals six times and won the World Cup four times, second only to the five-star Brazil. In the second World Cup in 1934, Italy defeated the United States, Spain and Austria continuously, reached the World Cup final for the first time in history, and finally defeated Czechoslovakia 2-1, winning the first World Cup championship in team history. The defending champions of the 1938 World Cup, Italy defeated France and Brazil, and reached the World Cup final again. Facing the world's strong team Hungary at that time, Italy defeated its opponent 4-2 and won two consecutive World Cup championships. Italy reached the World Cup finals again after 32 years in the 1970 World Cup, but this time Italy was defeated by Brazil in the final and ranked second in the World Cup.

Italy's number one star in the 1982 World Cup, Paul Rossi, led the team and successfully passed the test of two stages of the competition and advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. In the semi-finals, Italy knocked Poland 2-0 and reached the World Cup final. Facing Germany's World Cup final, Italy blossomed at multiple points and finally defeated Germany 3-1, winning the third World Cup championship in team history. Time came to the 1994 World Cup, Italy defeated Nigeria, Spain and Bulgaria in the knockout round, and once again met with Brazil in the finals. This time the two sides fought to a penalty shootout, Brazil finally won the penalty shootout, and Italy lost to Brazil again in the final, and Baggio's melancholy back became a classic scene in the World Cup. Lippi led Italy in the 2006 World Cup, defeating Australia, Ukraine and Germany in succession, and reached the final again. In the World Cup final with France, the two teams fought to a penalty shootout, and Italy eventually became the winner of the penalty shootout. They won 5-3 in the penalty shootout, successfully winning the fourth World Cup championship in team history, and becoming the second most winning team in World Cup history.

2. The team fell into a trough and missed the World Cup for a row. After winning the 2006 World Cup, the team gradually went downhill. In the 2010 World Cup, Italy was in the same group as Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. Italy, which was originally the strongest, was expected to advance easily, but after three games, Italy was unable to win, and the group was eliminated early. Italy fell into the death group in the 2014 World Cup. They were in the same group as England, Uruguay and Costa Rica. In the end, Italy missed the third place in the group with 1 win and 2 losses, and missed the group in two consecutive World Cups. This is not the worst thing, and Italy failed to pass the qualifiers in the next two World Cups. In the 2018 World Cup European Qualifiers, Italy was in the same group as Spain, Albania, Israel, North Macedonia and Liechtenstein. After 10 rounds of qualifiers, Italy achieved a record of 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, while Spain advanced directly to the World Cup with the first place in the group. Italy and Sweden, the second in the group, played a two-round showdown to compete for a place in the main competition. Italy lost 0-1 at home in Sweden, but returned to his home court, Italy drew with Sweden, and handed over the qualification to advance to Sweden, resulting in absent from the 2018 World Cup. Italy, which just won the European Cup championship in the 2022 World Cup, is in Group C with Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania. As a result, the European Cup champion Italy achieved only 4 wins and 4 draws, ranking second in the group by 2 points behind Switzerland, and missed the opportunity to directly advance to the World Cup main competition and could only participate in the play-offs. Italy broke into an upset in the first round of the playoffs, and they lost to the unknown North Macedonia 0-1 and missed the 2022 World Cup.

3. No one is available in the frontcourt, and Italian talents have faded

In the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers, Italy currently ranks third in the group with a record of 1 win and 1 loss, 9 points behind Norway, which is the first in the group, and 3 points behind Israel, which is the second in the group. In Italy's two World Cup qualifiers, they lost three goals against Haaland and Odegaux, but they only won a victory against Moldova. The failure of a strong dialogue with Norway almost put Italy in a desperate situation again. After all, only the first place in each group is qualified to advance to the World Cup. Italy's difficulties also stem from the decline of football talents, especially frontcourt players. The Italian frontcourt, which was previously full of spirituality, no longer exists, making it difficult for the team to face a strong opponent every time. Of course the game has not yet ended, and we still hope that Italy can return to the World Cup next year.