Italian football suffered two heavy hammers in a week: Is the World Cup going to be no longer possible?

In the Champions League final on May 31, Paris Saint-Germain beat Inter Milan 5:0 at the Allianz Stadium in Munich, Germany, setting the most disparity in the finals of any type of competition in the world in 70 years. This shameful score has hit Inter Milan fans hard and affected the image of Italian football. During the international match day six days later, Norway only took 42 minutes to knock the Italian national team down in the 2026 US, Canada and Mexico World Cup European qualifiers. The defeat in this game caused a complete collapse of Italian domestic fans and caused Italian media reporters to start bombarding Spaletti.

In 2017, Italy led by Ventura lost 0:1 in two rounds when facing Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers, allowing four-star Italy to miss the Russian World Cup. After that game, the captain of the Italian national team, Buffon, burst into tears in front of the camera, and the scene of announcing his withdrawal from the national team from then on, hitting the hearts of many Italian fans.

In 2023, Italy led by Mancini suffered a final kill in stoppage time when facing North Macedonia in the play-offs of the World Cup, and lost 0:1 again, missing the Qatar World Cup. In the two consecutive World Cups, Italy, whose defense line is like steel and cement and as strong as iron walls, was cut by its opponent with one goal.

The first qualifier for the 2026 World Cup this year was actually dismembered by the opponent's defensive system on which he became famous. There is no reason for the Italian to not be alert: Did I let me be swept out for three consecutive World Cups? This concern from fans and the media is not impossible. Looking at the European qualifiers, the first place in the 12 groups will be qualified for the World Cup. Italy has 5 teams in Group I, and the other four are Norway, Moldova, Estonia, and Ether. Norway now has won 9 points in three consecutive games and ranked first in the group. If Italy wants to win the top spot in the group, it must score points on Norway. The first leg was in a dark game. Even though he returned to his home court in November and won Norway, with Norway's current competitive state and comprehensive strength, he wanted them to make mistakes in the remaining other games and lose two games in a row. This possibility is very slim.

What happens if Italy gets second in the group? Only play-offs. The second teams in the 12 groups and the top four teams in the European League were divided into 4 groups to fight each other. The winning teams got the remaining last 4 tickets. Italy now has a demon. They all fell on the road to the playoffs in the first two World Cup qualifiers. Once I want to enter the US, Canada and Mexico World Cup through the play-offs again this year, this inner demon will probably be difficult to break.

There is not much time left for Spaletti

The second game during this international match day, Italy will face Molvado at home on June 9. Winning is a prerequisite for Spalletti to remain in office, but not a necessary condition. Judging from the questionnaire of Italian fans, up to 95% of fans hope that Ranieri will take over the national team, while Spaletti's approval rating is only a pitiful 5%. In the Italian media circle, Spalletti encountered a crisis of trust. A well-known local reporter asked about Spalletti's employer: "Why should we exclude Mancini, Romanioli, and Zachani? You have to say that you lack capable players, why can't they get your call?"

And their famous reporters disagree with the tactical changes that Spalletti has made in the Italian national team: "Defense is engraved in Italy in the bones of the bones. The genes of the European Cup and World Cup can be won by not conceding goals. Spaletti is a capable coach at the stadium and club, but it cannot solve everything. Spaletti wants to improve Italy's performance through his own transformation, but you have to know that you can evolve, but essentially cannot change the genes of Italian football."

And within the Italian Football Association, there is also a voice about Spaletti's dismissal. When facing the media, Spaletti responded firmly: "I will participate in the next home game against Molvador. I will talk to the Chairman of the Football Association because I need to talk about my intentions and the choices I made." Although the Italian Football Association has not yet made any noise, the rumor will most likely come true in the end. Spaletti probably will find it difficult to reverse his fate as a head coach in the national team.

In Italian politics, there are many voices of doubt and criticism about Spaletti. An official in the Italian Senate wrote a passage on a social platform, which roughly means: "There are always many foreigners in Italian clubs, so the quality of the results is related to these people (I personally think he refers to the scene where Spaletti led Naples to win the championship), but the Italian national team is all Italians. Spaletti played the result of the game like this. If he knew his dignity, he would resign after losing to Norway."

Ranieli or Mancini, Italian fans are now paying far more attention to them than Spaletti. Regarding the current situation in Italy, striving for the first place in the group is the first option to win the World Cup qualifying group. It is unlikely that Spaletti will carry out her work in an orderly manner under such public opinion conditions.