How Can Italy re-configure the National Team to Succeed in World Cup 2026

The Azzurri are in the middle of their worst era in history, but if clubs and country can come together to change philosophies and structure, Italy can work – and dream – towards World Cup 2026, writes Wayne Girard.

Over the last six years, Italy has endured not one but three sporting nightmares. One that has seen Italy fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, then 2022, concluding with an early exit as defending champions of the European championship. Much was made over manager Luciano Spalletti’s player choices, decision-making, and tactics throughout the tournament, even leading questions surrounding his future with the national team. While it’s a very depressing situation at the moment, there is hope in the long run to revamp this situation. However, solving a perennial issue is going to take some major decision-making, an evolution in mentality, and, frankly, guts.

The Azzurri had never failed to qualify for two consecutive World Cup editions, as suggested by history and real-time statistics. So, what will they need to qualify and be successful in the USA in 2026?

Italy entered the euros with the sixth youngest squad (26.5), but there’s been a great disconnect from the men’s team down to the youth levels, as Italy’s Under 19 team won the European Championship last year, while the Under 20 side made it to the World Cup final. There is no shortage of talent, but how this talent is nurtured, developed, and perceived in the short term.

Perhaps this is an area that the federation needs to connect with clubs on, encouraging young and teenage Italians into the first teams to integrate them earlier. We only need to look at Spain and the situation of Lamine Yamal, who is preparing to win the tournament following a superb strike that lifted Spain over the French favourites.

While Spalletti emphasised youth in his press conferences during qualifiers for Euro 2024, older players like Stephan El Shaarawy and Matteo Darmian were brought on as depth, keeping the lower-level champions at home. Jorginho, now 32 years old, was a central figure in Spalletti’s play, which surely is in his last European tournament. These selections were not the problem but symptoms of a lack of true focus on believing that young players could make a difference.

The Italian defence needs to stay similar to what we had in the Euros, with Riccardo Calafiori alongside Alessandro Bastoni. It was unfortunate for 20-year-old Giorgio Scalvini to miss the tournament with an ACL tear. These three must be rotating with one another and building chemistry whether deployed in a three-man back line, or pairs.

On their flanks, Raoul Bellanova is just a few years older than Atalanta’s tall, dribbling-talent Matteo Ruggeri. Destiny Udogie is also 21-years-old, and the two of them will be proper competition for one another vying for that spot out wide. Bellanova will also have to watch his back, as Fiorentina’s Michael Kayode (20)  the right-back played an important role in the Viola’s journey to the UEFA Conference League final.

The midfield must make use of Cesare Casadei’s size and skill. A part of Inter’s youth setup, he moved to Chelsea in 2022 and has been developing in the English Championship with Reading, followed by Leicester City. Convincing a stay in London, he made 11 substitute appearances with the Blues this past season. He’s been at the core of Italy’s youth setup ranging from Under 16-U21 due to having an incredibly balanced skill set and capability to play in virtually any role within the midfield. If Italy are to move forward towards World Cup 2026, Casadei must be groomed into a Caesar at the centre.

Casadei must be complemented by players of his kind, rather than forced to become accustomed to the stagnation we witnessed in June. While Spalletti needed Nicolò Barella, the country’s leading active goal scorer, Jorginho and Bryan Cristante are not players who can be used to incorporate the next generation. Barella is more than worthy of his place, and his seniority can prove essential in guiding these players, but to just plug a few youngsters here and there is no idea. The mission requires guts, as mentioned, and that means eliminating players who are unable to do more than ‘just a job.’

While it’s wise to protect Francesco Camarda from unrealistic expectations and throw him too quickly in the deep end, it’s sometimes the best way to learn how to swim. Milan will be stronger and more unified next season under Paulo Fonseca, who is a brilliant offensive mind. Camarda may very well be the most talented player Italy has had since those of the 2006 generation, and Italy must foster that ability immediately. To force him to prove himself in the lower leagues and work his way up through the loan system will be counterintuitive – a habit forced upon Italian football that is at the crux of the issue.

Simone Pafundi is now at risk from this pattern. A starlet who made his professional debut for Udinese in 2022 at just 16 years of age following his domination of the Under 19 division. In The Guardian’s list of the 60 best talents born in 2006, he was then loaned to Switzerland’s Lausanne-Sport, who have a €15m option for him. Meanwhile, he was capped by Roberto Mancini that year, becoming the youngest player for the Azzurri in 100 years.

He may very well end up lost in the shuffle, rather than an Italian team having the vision to make him the focal point of their attacking third. While in this case, the country has done its part in giving him a chance, Italian club ideology has seen him step further away from a contained system that could have helped him reach his potential earlier on.

Perhaps the most controversial take on this subject is that a cup winner must be at the head if the FIGC isn’t willing to continue with Spaletti. At the moment, this isn’t the case, but if a new President emerges from Federal elections in November, then anything can happen, as recently claimed by CONI chief Giovanni Malagò.

If there is one man who knows tournament football, it’s Jose Mourinho. While you might be getting ready to throw tomatoes at your computer or phone screen, consider that the tactician has built his entire empire on knockout rounds and grinding through the brackets. One of the most winning managers in European football, and who has only lost one final due to a refereeing error, he would also take pressure off of the players and hold them accountable.

Although this last point is just fantasy football, as the FIGC would never allow it, the point remains the same in that the Azzurri will need a manager who focuses on the tournament at hand rather than imposing a system of complex passing patterns and schematics with players he can only work with sporadically.

Italy must give the kids a chance, and furthermore, clubs need to change their philosophies on how to incorporate the youth sector into the first team. By working hand in hand, Italy can step out of the nightmare and look up towards the dream of World Cup 2026.