'There's No Option But To Win:' Italy Playing For Pride vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
📖 Full Retelling
Italy are World Cup royalty. Only five-time winners Brazil have been crowned champions on more occasions than the Azzurri (four). And yet it's now 20 years since Italy last lifted the trophy. Worse still, they've failed to qualify for the past two tournaments, meaning there's an entire generation that have never seen their country even play in a World Cup. One would be tempted to go all Helen Lovejoy on it and plead, 'Won't somebody please think of the children?!' But the players already are. "We know full well that we are responsible for all those kids out there and the entire Italian football movement," They're also just one win away from ending Italy's very much self-inflicted international exile, with the Azzurri having beaten Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo last Thursday to set up a play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday. So, how are Locatelli & Co. shaping up ahead of a game of monumental importance for not only the national team, but calcio in general? Are Italy well-placed to bring an end to their World Cup woe? Or do they actually risk even more misery? Spalletti the savior... Remarkable as it may seem, there was actually a genuine doubt over whether Italy would even make it into the play-offs. When Luciano Spalletti stepped down last summer, the national team was in total disarray. Spalletti was supposed to have been the Azzurri's savior. He had stepped into the considerable void left by Roberto Mancini after the Euro 2020 winner sensationally quit in August 2023 and was universally regarded as the ideal replacement, having only just led Napoli to a first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona. However, while Spalletti sufficiently steadied the ship to secure a spot at Euro 2024, the tournament was a disaster for Italy, and particularly the coach. It may have been clear beforehand that Spalletti's squad was short on quality, but he made several puzzling tactical and personnel decisions in Germany. The net result was the weakes
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- No Data Available - BROWSE BY SPORTS & TEAMS PLAYERS SHOWS PERSONALITIES TOPICS Built on FIFA Men's World Cup FIFA Men's World Cup 'There's No Option But To Win:' Italy Playing For Pride vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina Updated Mar. 30, 2026 9:37 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Italy are World Cup royalty. Only five-time winners Brazil have been crowned champions on more occasions than the Azzurri . And yet it's now 20 years since Italy last lifted the trophy. Worse still, they've failed to qualify for the past two tournaments, meaning there's an entire generation that have never seen their country even play in a World Cup. One would be tempted to go all Helen Lovejoy on it and plead, 'Won't somebody please think of the children?!' But the players already are. "We know full well that we are responsible for all those kids out there and the entire Italian football movement," They're also just one win away from ending Italy's very much self-inflicted international exile, with the Azzurri having beaten Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo last Thursday to set up a play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday. So, how are Locatelli & Co. shaping up ahead of a game of monumental importance for not only the national team, but calcio in general? Are Italy well-placed to bring an end to their World Cup woe? Or do they actually risk even more misery? Spalletti the savior... Remarkable as it may seem, there was actually a genuine doubt over whether Italy would even make it into the play-offs. When Luciano Spalletti stepped down last summer, the national team was in total disarray. Spalletti was supposed to have been the Azzurri's savior. He had stepped into the considerable void left by Roberto Mancini after the Euro 2020 winner sensationally quit in August 2023 and was universally regarded as the ideal replacement, having only just led Napoli to a first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona. However, while Spalletti sufficiently steadied the ship to secure a ...
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