On Friday, more than a decade on from that dramatic 2014 World Cup exit in Brazil, Italy sets out toward the 2026 World Cup in North America as a top-seeded nation in the 54-team draw for 12 European qualifying groups next year.
GENEVA — The last time Italy played at a men’s World Cup, Giorgio Chiellini was bitten by Luis Suárez and minutes later the four-time champion was dumped out at the group stage by Uruguay.
“We need to be up to the task,” Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said this week. “The national team shirt is special. Think about when you go abroad and how many people follow us, some standing for hours just to see our bus pass by.” It fit a pattern in Italy’s remarkably poor World Cup record since winning that fourth title in Berlin in 2006: two group-stage exits then two failures even to qualify.
Those Nations League Final Four teams cannot play World Cup qualifying games until September and must be placed Friday in a four-team qualifying group. Six groups will have four teams and six have five teams, with games starting in March. The 12 group winners next November advance directly to the World Cup, and four more teams qualify through playoff brackets in March 2026.Pot 1: Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.
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