Italy has failed to qualify for three straight world cups. They failed to qualify in 2018, 2022, and 2026.

The latest failure is particularly painful for two reasons.

All Italy has to do is defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina to qualify. Bosnia defeated Italy 4-1 in penalty shootouts.

The second reason is, the 2026 World Cup field was increased by 50% from 32 teams to 48 teams.

Teams that qualified for the 2026 World Cup include the likes of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Panama, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo and Bosnia among others.

Italy was a football giant. It is joint second with Germany to win the most number of World Cups next only to Brazil which won five.

Italian Serie A, the domestic league, was the most dominant league in the world in the 1990s.

While the English Premier League is the dominant now, it was no match for the depth of talent or the financial muscle of the Serie A in the 1990s. This dominance culminated with their 2006 World Cup victory.

From such a position of dominance to fail to qualify for three straight World Cups, the fall was a horror.

What could be the reason? Could the rise of Jannik Sinner in tennis be the reason? Are young athletes lured by the promise of making it big in world tennis? Could an individual sport make such a huge dent in a team sport like football, particularly in a football crazy nation like Italy? The answer is likely No.

The rise of Carlos Alcaraz didn't stop Spain from qualifying for the World Cup. Infact, Spain won their first ever World Cup in 2010 when Rafael Nadal was dominating tennis.

The Italy football fans say the root cause is the decay and corruption in the domestic league Serie A.

What ever the reason is, Italy's absence makes the World Cup poorer.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from

June 11 to July 19, 2026.

It will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.