Four stars on their jersey. A record among the most prestigious in world football. And yet, for several years now, Italy has been watching the World Cup on television, like a mere spectator.
2018, 2022, and now 2026. Three consecutive editions without the Squadra Azzurra. For a nation of this magnitude, it's simply unthinkable.
How did one of the greatest national teams in history end up here? A look back at the curse of Italy, this football giant absent from the 2026 World Cup, and what it means for the tournament.
A Legendary Nation, Four Stars on the Jersey
To measure the fall, we must first recall the heights.
Italy is not just any team. It is one of the most successful nations in World Cup history, and it has long reigned supreme in world football. Its track record commands respect.
- 1934: First triumph, at home.
- 1938: Historic double, just before the war.
- 1982: The triumph in Spain, etched in memory.
- 2006: The last star, won in Germany.
Four stars embroidered on the azure jersey, making the Squadra Azzurra an absolute benchmark, on par with the greatest. Only Brazil has done better.
Italian football has given everything to the game. A legendary defensive culture, the famous catenaccio, goalkeepers and defenders who have become legends of the sport.
At that time, facing Italy was a nightmare for any attacker. The Nazionale built its reputation on a rigor and sense of the game that the whole world envied.
Italy is a monument. A pillar of world football for almost a century. This is precisely what makes what follows so incomprehensible.
To see such a giant disappear from the World Cup radar is dizzying. As if a mountain had suddenly vanished from the landscape.
2018: The Earthquake Against Sweden
It all begins with an evening Italy will never forget.
In November 2017, the Squadra played for its qualification for the 2018 World Cup in a decisive playoff against Sweden. On paper, a formality for a nation of this caliber.
Defeated in the first leg, Italy failed to turn the situation around in the return leg, despite sterile domination. The verdict was relentless. They were eliminated.
For the first time since 1958, the national team missed a World Cup. A national earthquake, experienced as a true humiliation by an entire country.
Images of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in tears, bidding farewell to the national team, circulated worldwide. The end of an era, and the beginning of a nightmare.
No one, at the time, imagined that the worst was yet to come.
Overnight, Italy went from being an eternal favorite to an absentee. A shock from which transalpine football would take years to recover.
2022: The Incredible Failure Against North Macedonia
Four years later, history repeats itself. Even worse.
In March 2022, Italy approached a new playoff hoping to redeem themselves. Facing them, an opponent largely within their reach on paper: North Macedonia.
But football sometimes defies hierarchies. In the final minutes, the Macedonians scored an unexpected goal, and all of Italy crumbled at once.
Eliminated, again. Two World Cups missed in a row, an unprecedented occurrence for the Squadra Azzurra.
The craziest part of this story? Only a few months earlier, Italy had been crowned European champions. Queen of the continent, but absent from the World Cup.
A cruel, almost unreal paradox, which alone sums up this cursed period.
That evening in Palermo will remain one of the darkest in the history of the national team. A defeat that goes beyond the simple result and questions an entire system.
2026: The Curse Continues
And if we hoped for a return, we will have to wait longer.
The 2026 edition was supposed to be one of redemption. The great return of the Squadra Azzurra to the world stage, in front of its tifosi.
It will be nothing of the sort. For the third consecutive time, Italy will not play in the World Cup. An absence that speaks volumes.
Three times in a row. The word is no longer too strong: we can now speak of a true curse for Italian football.
For the supporters, the disappointment is immense. Watching the biggest tournament in the world unfold without their team has become a bitter, almost unbearable habit.
How could such a glorious nation have come to this?
The question torments football fans around the world. Because beyond Italy, a part of the soul of the World Cup is fading away.
Buffon and the Heroes of a Sacrificed Generation
Some absences hurt more than others. The one in 2018 deprived legends of a final run.
Gianluigi Buffon, legendary goalkeeper and 2006 world champion, hoped to play one last World Cup. The playoff against Sweden shattered that dream forever.
With him, several key players saw the door to the World Cup close definitively. An entire generation of champions, deprived of the most beautiful farewell.
These images of weeping men that evening went around the world. They show how much the stakes went beyond simple sporting context.
Even the greatest are not immune to a twist of fate. Football, sometimes, writes terribly cruel endings.
And Italy experienced one of the hardest in its history.
How Did We Get Here?
Behind the apparent bad luck, there are much deeper causes.
The curse of Italy is not just about chance. It reflects real difficulties, accumulated over the years by Italian football.
The generational renewal was slow in coming. Yesterday's great champions did not always find successors of the same level, especially in front of goal.
Training, long a great strength of the country, experienced a downturn. The league sometimes lagged in promoting its young local talents.
Added to this is a merciless European qualification format. Playoffs, direct elimination over a single match, do not forgive the slightest mistake.
One bad evening, and an entire cycle collapses. Italy experienced this bitter lesson, twice rather than once.
Many also point to a certain weariness of the model. Where other nations modernized and focused on youth, Italian football sometimes seemed to be behind the times.
The Crushing Weight of History
Being Italy means carrying an immense legacy. And this legacy can quickly become a burden.
Each generation of the Squadra Azzurra is compared to the glorious elders, to the champions of 1982 and 2006. The bar is set very high.
This permanent demand creates a pressure that few national teams in the world experience. The slightest failure immediately takes on enormous proportions.
Missing a World Cup, for Italy, is not a simple mishap. It is a national wound, dissected and debated for months.
Rebuilding in such a climate requires time, serenity, and a clear project. Three things difficult to combine under such strong pressure.
Talent has never really been lacking. It is perhaps patience that has been missing.
The Paradox of a Sleeping Giant
A team can be at the top and at the bottom almost at the same time.
The Italian case will remain one of the strangest in modern football. A puzzle that observers still struggle to fully explain.
European champions in 2021, Italy proved that they still possessed immense potential. Talent, a cohesive team, a true playing identity.
But for the most important event of all, the World Cup, the machinery repeatedly broke down, at the worst possible moments.
This is the paradox of a giant sometimes asleep, capable of the best and the cruelest failures.
The good news, for the tifosi, is that such a story always eventually turns around.
What if Italian Football Were Reborn?
Amidst the gloom, a few signs, despite everything, offer hope.
Italian clubs have regained their colors on the European stage in recent seasons. A dynamic that often benefits the national team.
Young talents are emerging, trained in the country, and are gradually knocking on the door of the Squadra Azzurra. The next generation is preparing behind the scenes.
Italian tactical know-how has never disappeared. It only needs to be reactivated by a new, ambitious, and liberated generation.
The awakening may not be immediate. But it will eventually arrive, as always with great nations.
Because one thing is certain: Italy has too much history to remain in the shadows forever.
What Italy's Absence Changes for the World Cup
A tournament without the Squadra doesn't quite have the same flavor.
The absence of a nation like Italy inevitably leaves a void in the World Cup landscape. A great regular missing from the call.
We won't see the famous tactical duels that the Squadra knows how to impose, nor the very particular fervor of Italian supporters in the stands.
But football abhors a vacuum. Other nations are rushing into the breach, determined to make history in their turn.
And the 48-team format promises to open the door to beautiful surprises and new faces.
2026, Time for Other Nations
Even if Italy isn't there, the spectacle will certainly be on hand.
The 2026 World Cup will still bring together forty-eight nations, spread across three host countries. Enough to thrill all summer long.
The usual favorites will be present, starting with Les Bleus, whom we analyze in detail in our article on Les Bleus, favorites for the 2026 World Cup.
To discover all the teams in contention, continent by continent, we have prepared a guide to the nations of the 2026 World Cup.
And to understand the format, schedule, and rules of this expanded edition, head to our complete guide to the 2026 World Cup.
How to Experience the 2026 World Cup Without the Squadra
Italy or not, the 2026 World Cup promises to be magnificent. And it's always best experienced in the colors of your favorite team.
Whether you support Les Bleus or another nation, find jerseys, flags, and scarves in our collections, starting with the France collection and all our supporter jerseys.
As for Italy, its return is undoubtedly only a matter of time. Giants always eventually wake up.
While waiting for this great return, let the celebration begin. A jersey on your back, a flag in your hand, and the 2026 World Cup is just waiting for you to get excited.
Coming soon on the blog: the greatest disappointments in World Cup history, and our prediction of the favorites for 2026.