BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Coach Gennaro Gattuso of Italy gesture during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
It has been a tough old year for the Azzurri and an even more testing one lies in store. Giancarlo Rinaldi examines what could help the national team return to its former glory.
You certainly can’t fault him for effort. Every time you turn on the television to watch a Serie A game, it seems, you will get a close-up of him in the crowd. If nothing else, Rino Gattuso is hoovering up as much information as he can ahead of one of the most important years in the history of the famous blue colours of his country, which he donned with such distinction.
Italy were put through the wringer in 2025 with two one-sided defeats by Norway, the unwanted highlights of a pretty grim 12 months. There was the rumbustious Nations League elimination by Germany as well, and a madcap match with Israel alongside some more routine victories. In the middle of it all, the Azzurri parted company with Luciano Spalletti and turned to the snappy, snarling former midfielder instead. The results were initially strong enough, but a reality check with Erling Haaland and company suggested that there is much work to be done if they hope to even get to the World Cup in 2026.
For La Nazionale to miss out on the extended party in Mexico, Canada and the USA would be a huge setback and one which would, undoubtedly, provoke more calls for an overhaul in the Italian Football Federation. If they want to get there they will have to first get past Northern Ireland at home and then face a trip to either Wales or Bosnia – neither of which, on current form, look as straightforward as they should be for a country which has, lest we forget, won the World Cup four times in the past.
Part one of Gattuso’s Christmas wish list will undoubtedly be to keep all his key players fit for the vital matches on the horizon. The loss of a midfield stalwart like Sandro Tonali or Nicolò Barella would be a hammer blow ahead of such important fixtures. No wonder he always looks a little edgy whenever he is at a game – he is probably hoping nobody administers one of his own trademark tackles on one of the Azzurri’s more important contributors.
Another thing to get sorted is his defence. There is something that has not functioned for a while with the Italian back line, which seems incredible to think of in a nation where the art form of stopping the opposition from scoring has been revered for generations. Despite having a crop of decent players, something is missing from the rearguard, which he will have to try to solve sooner rather than later. A gentle revolution is needed to allow that unit to evolve into one which strikes fear into the heart of any attacker brave enough to take it on. From that solid base, he could hope to build a team which would not only get to the World Cup but might also progress past the group stages.
The emergence of a few new faces to challenge his old guard would also be welcome. This squad has a solid enough core, but it is definitely in need of rejuvenation and seeing the likes of Francesco Pio Esposito get more game time with Inter would surely be a boost. Italy have done well enough at youth levels of late to suggest that the talent is there but it seems to stall due to lack of playing opportunities in Serie A. Boys who have gone to seek their fortune abroad might well have a part to play.
Up front, all he wants for Christmas is for Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui to thrive. If there has been a positive from Gattuso’s arrival, it has been the commitment to play the two together which has brought goalscoring rewards. He will hope they both keep fit and that Fiorentina start to see a revival in their fortunes in order for their talisman to approach the big matches in March with a degree more confidence than he would right now.
And, finally, there is the Federico Chiesa conundrum. It is now more than four years since his breakout tournament at the delayed Euro 2020 and how Italy could do with that player in that form back in the fold. None of the current wide options offer the drive and attacking threat that he did in his prime, but it is a question of whether he will get many opportunities to show it with Liverpool and how much he feels he can give his country. The phone line between player and manager might well remain open, but the clock is definitely ticking on getting the situation sorted one way or another.
This, and much more, will be racing through Rino’s mind over the festive season, no doubt. He will be itching to get to the play-off games but, at the same time, hope that Serie A – and elsewhere – can throw him up a few solutions. Italy will not go into these games, which will define an era, with any great confidence, but they can use them as a building block to reconstruct their reputation as one of football’s superpowers. Is Gattuso the man to get them there? Two vital tests in springtime will give us an answer to that question one way or another.
