Italy Miss Consecutive FIFA World Cups for First Time
Authored by lion-bet.net, 01 Apr 2026
Italy, four-time FIFA World Cup winners in 1934, 1938, 1954 and 2006, failed to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments—the first time the nation has missed back-to-back editions.[1][2]
Prior to these absences, Italy's only previous non-qualification was for the 1958 World Cup.[1]
Qualification for the 2018 tournament ended in the European playoffs against Sweden. Italy lost the first leg 1-0 in Solna before a 0-0 draw in the second leg at San Siro in Milan, for a 1-0 aggregate defeat.[3][4]
Four years later, in the 2022 playoffs, North Macedonia won 1-0 in Palermo with a 92nd-minute goal from Aleksandar Trajkovski, eliminating Italy at the Bilino Polje Stadium? No, Palermo.[5][6]
Italy sit in UEFA Group B for the 2026 FIFA World Cup European qualifiers alongside Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. Bosnia and Herzegovina compete in Group A with Netherlands, Hungary, Latvia and Malta.[7][8]
The league phase runs until November 2025, followed by playoffs in March 2026 to decide the final four of Europe's 16 spots.[7]
Sources
- Wikipedia - Italy at the FIFA World Cup - Accessed 1 November 2024 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup
- UEFA - European Qualifiers Archive - Ongoing - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/
- UEFA - Sweden 1-0 Italy (play-off first leg) - 10 November 2017 - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/match/2028196--sweden-vs-italy/
- UEFA - Italy 0-0 Sweden (play-off second leg) - 13 November 2017 - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/match/2028195--italy-vs-sweden/
- UEFA - North Macedonia 1-0 Italy (play-off) - 29 March 2022 - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/match/2036411--north-macedonia-vs-italy/
- BBC Sport - North Macedonia 1-0 Italy: World Cup dream over for Azzurri - 29 March 2022 - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60688104
- UEFA - European Qualifiers for 2026 World Cup: All the fixtures and results - 13 December 2023 - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/news/0292-1c4d5a6d2f3b-8f8b0a4c4e2a-1000--european-qualifiers-for-2026-world-cup-all-the-fixtures-an/
- UEFA - Standings - Accessed 1 November 2024 - https://www.uefa.com/europeanqualifiers/standings/