Who will rescue the Italian national team?
Immediately after Italy's 0-3 defeat to Norway, coach Luciano Spalletti decided to resign.
Despite playing away against Norway, a team featuring players like Martin Odegaard, Erling Haaland, and Alexander Sorloth, the Italian team, nicknamed the Azzurri, were still considered the favorites to win. Unfortunately, after only 42 minutes, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had already conceded three goals.
The defeat left the Italian team trailing behind their rivals in a group that also includes Norway, Israel, Estonia, and Moldova. Currently, the EURO 2020 champions have yet to earn any points in Group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the European region.
As the person "at the helm," coach Luciano Spalletti had to take responsibility for the team's poor performance. To rectify the mistake, the strategist born in 1959 decided to leave his position as head coach of the Italian national team earlier than expected.
Therefore, Italy will be without a head coach for their match against Moldova on June 10th. Fortunately for Gianluigi Donnarumma and his teammates, the Moldovan team is relatively weak. So, not having a head coach isn't a major problem.
However, to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the Italian national team needs to find an outstanding head coach. Unfortunately, at this time, most talented strategists already have stable jobs or are not yet ready to "return to coaching," a prime example being coach Zinedine Zidane.
According to Italian media reports, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is in contact with coach Claudio Ranieri, who recently led AS Roma to a 5th-place finish in Serie A 2024/2025. Interestingly, after nearly 40 years as a coach, the "tinkerer" has never managed the Italian national team.
If the FIGC is serious, it's highly likely that coach Claudio Ranieri will accept the offer. The caliber of the strategist born in 1951 is undeniable. It should be noted that the Italian national team missed out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
