CHIŞINǍU, Moldova — When prominent nations struggle, the strain can be considerable, and another FIFA World Cup disappointment is looming for Italy. The Azzurri haven’t technically been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup yet, but dissatisfaction is already widespread.
Federico Dimarco was quick to leave the field following a belated, yet ultimately inconsequential, 2-0 victory over Moldova, and his Italy colleagues and manager Gennaro Gattuso were not far behind, with none of them acknowledging the 400 Italy supporters who had journeyed to Chișinău.
Demonstrations against the Italian Federation and jeers aimed at the players and Gattuso, who assumed control of the squad in June, spurred the coach to retort at the traveling fans, emphasizing the duress endured by the coach and team.
“Now is not the moment to advise the players to seek alternative employment,” Gattuso stated.
“In truth, I cannot condone the fans’ disapproval. We must all maintain solidarity at this juncture.”
It marked their sixth triumph in seven matches in Group I of UEFA World Cup qualification for Italy, but 2-0 was hardly sufficient given their requirement to overwhelm the group’s weakest team, leaving the four-time world champions — second only to Brazil in World Cup titles — needing to surpass Norway by nine goals in Milan on Sunday to secure World Cup qualification for the first time since 2014.
Having taken 88 minutes to unlock Moldova in Chișinău through Gianluca Mancini’s header, it is virtually impossible that Italy will score nine unanswered goals against a Norway team boasting a perfect winning streak in the group, consigning the Italians to the uncertainty of the playoff once more.
Sweden ousted Italy in the playoff for the 2018 World Cup, and North Macedonia denied them a spot at the 2022 World Cup. Both countries remain potential adversaries in Thursday’s playoff draw, should Italy fail to score those nine goals against Norway.
This impractical scenario explains Dimarco and his teammates’ swift departure after the final whistle. They comprehend the predicament awaiting them and the pressure to avert the disgrace of Italy, a historically significant footballing nation, missing out on a third consecutive World Cup, after qualifying for the preceding 14.
“During my playing days, the top runners-up proceeded directly to the World Cup; the rules have since changed,” Gattuso lamented.
“To alter the rules, you must address those responsible for organizing these tournaments.
“Observing South America, where six out of ten teams gain direct World Cup entry and the seventh competes in a playoff against an Oceania team, evokes disappointment. The system requires modification in Europe.”
Perhaps, but Italy may also need to improve, as Germany, Spain, England, and France, their fellow European powerhouses, have not encountered similar obstacles in recent World Cup qualification cycles. Italy’s 3-0 defeat to Norway early in the qualification campaign, which resulted in coach Luciano Spalletti’s dismissal, proved detrimental to the Azzurri.
But with goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded) serving as the primary tie-breaker in the event of teams being level on points — rather than head-to-head results — there should have been adequate opportunity to compensate for that loss in Oslo.
However, Norway’s consistent winning streak has been characterized by decisive victories, including an 11-1 home thrashing of Moldova and a 5-0 victory in Chișinău. These results alone augmented their goal difference by 15 goals.
Consequently, despite remaining unblemished since their loss to Norway, securing five consecutive wins in Group I, Italy struggled to keep pace with the Norwegian goalscoring prowess.
Erling Haaland has tallied 14 goals in the qualifying rounds, nine more than Italy’s leading scorer in the group, Mateo Retegui, and just four fewer than Italy managed in six games preceding the Moldova kickoff.
Rather than a chronicle of Italian failure, it is predominantly a testament to Norway’s exceptional performance, and the outcome mirrors the qualifiers for 2018 and 2022: Italy, pending a miracle in Milan on Sunday, face the playoff once more.
However, they possessed the opportunity against Moldova to at least provide themselves with a chance of orchestrating a remarkable escape in the final match against Norway.
A significant win — surpassing their record 9-0 victory against the United States in 1948 — would have afforded Gattuso’s team a glimmer of hope for the decisive victory against Stale Solbakken’s side that would secure first place and qualification.
As the Italy players boarded the team bus for the four-mile journey from their Chișinău hotel to the stadium, Norway were tied 0-0 with Estonia at halftime, but by the time the Italians arrived at Stadionul Zimbru just 20 minutes later, Norway were leading 4-0, extinguishing any hopes of dropped points and Italy regaining control of their qualification fate.
Italy knew they had to defeat both Moldova and Norway with a 19-goal swing in their favor. Still, Moldova had conceded 26 goals in six games and are ranked 156th globally — positioned between Singapore and Puerto Rico — for a reason.
But Italy’s task was so unrealistically daunting that it fostered desperation to score among the players, while simultaneously inspiring Moldova to elevate their performance to unprecedented levels.
As a result, Italy’s goalless first half was marked by comical errors. They registered 13 shots on goal — nine from within the penalty area — and failed to convert any of them. But were it not for a misdirected shot by Moldova center forward Virgiliu Postolachi after 33 minutes, Italy would have suffered the embarrassment of falling behind.
Despite their surprisingly high FIFA World Ranking of ninth, Italy are a largely functional team. They lack exceptional talent, with the possible exceptions of midfielders Sandro Tonali and Giacomo Raspadori, and coach Gattuso suggested before the match that Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa had declined a call-up for the Moldova and Norway games.
“I am obliged to respect the player’s decision,” Gattuso told reporters.
While Chiesa chose to remain in England, Gattuso opted against selecting Brentford full back Michael Kayode, whose long throws might have been advantageous against Moldova, especially with the towering forward Gianluca Scamacca reinstated to the team after a two-year injury layoff.
But Gattuso, Italy’s sixth manager since Cesare Prandelli oversaw their last World Cup appearance in 2014, boasts a winning record, enabling him to justify his selections based on those results.
He recognizes that his team must improve to reach the World Cup. They amassed 28 chances in Chișinău, but only converted two — Mancini’s header and Pio Esposito’s goal in stoppage time — so Gattuso needs Moise Kean to recover from injury and may need to persuade Chiesa to make himself available again.
With those two players available and Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori returning to fitness, Italy will be stronger. But as Gattuso and his players boarded the 1:30 a.m. flight back to Malpensa Airport in Milan, less than two hours after the final whistle, they likely did so with apprehension about what lies ahead.
The World Cup playoffs have become a series of horror films for Italy, and they must rewrite the ending.
