Former AC Milan manager Fabio Capello has disclosed that Italy must do everything possible to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Italy, a four-time world champion, failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, marking a historic decline.
Following their 2006 title, the Azzurri fell in the group stages in 2010 and 2014 before suffering consecutive failure-to-qualify shocks, losing in the playoffs to Sweden (2018) and North Macedonia (2022).
In a chat with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Capello stated that his team can’t afford not to qualify for the biggest football showpiece in the world.
“We’ll have to see how (coach Rino) Gattuso sets up the game. From there, we’ll understand whether it’s better to bring him on from the start or later on.
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“Retegui hasn’t played for a few weeks, and their Arab pace is a different beast than ours. Sometimes you pay for your lack of attitude.
“We must take the field with a clear mind at all costs, forgetting the burden of these 12 years of absence from the World Cup. It’s not easy, but we must succeed. We play freely.
“We have to go to the World Cup. Italians have always been passionate about major events, in fact now we all watch Formula 1 and tennis. Italy hasn’t been to the biggest football tournament in 12 years.
“That’s the reason there’s a certain disaffection around the national team.”
