5 reasons why Italy has failed to qualify for 3 consecutive World Cups

ROME (AP) — Italy won't get a chance at redemption for Roberto Baggio’s miss in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl. The four-time champion isn’t even going back to North America for this year’s tournament after a penalty shootout loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia-Herzegovina in the qualifying playoffs. It’s the third straight World Cup that Italy will miss after getting eliminated at the same stage by Sweden ahead of the 2018 World Cup and by North Macedonia in 2022.

Here’s a look at five reasons why the Azzurri continue to struggle: Del Piero and Totti long gone Compared to the title-winning 2006 Italy squad that featured standouts like Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, there haven’t been Italian players of that caliber for years. The most expensive player on the current squad is midfielder Sandro Tonali , who was purchased by Newcastle in 2023 for about 80 million euros ($93 million). The only other world-class player is Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The starting strikers are Argentine-born Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean of Fiorentina. Serie A is now a retirement destination The Italian league was considered the best in the world in the 1980s and 1990s when the likes of Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit came to play in the primes of their careers. It’s where Kaka won the Ballon d’Or award with AC Milan in 2007 — the last Italy-based player to receive the honor.

These days, ageing standouts like 40-year-old Luka Modric (at Milan) and 39-year-old Jamie Vardy (Cremonese) come to Serie A to conclude their careers. So without international stars, the league’s level has dropped and that has a trickle-down effect on the national team. Juventus, which used to provide the backbone for Italy’s squad, hasn’t won Serie A since 2020.