Overview
- Gattuso, who left the post on Friday, stepped down by mutual agreement after the playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties ended Italy’s 2026 World Cup bid.
- His departure followed Thursday’s resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and team delegation head Gianluigi Buffon, with the federation calling an extraordinary elective assembly for June 22 in Rome.
- Sports minister Andrea Abodi pushed for a change at the top of Italian football, and UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin warned that failing to modernize stadiums could imperil Italy’s Euro 2032 co‑hosting plans.
- No successor will be named before the June vote according to reporting, and local media are floating candidates such as Roberto Mancini, Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte, with Pep Guardiola mentioned as a long‑shot idea.
- Italy has now missed three straight World Cups after 2018 and 2022, a stark contrast to winning Euro 2020, leaving fans angry and forcing the federation to address weak results, dated venues and planning for Euro 2032.