The FIFA president delivers a scathing criticism to the Squadra Azzurra, absent from the World Cup, questioning its inability to qualify with an expanded format.
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, targeted Italy during an interview on CazéTV before the opening of the 2026 World Cup. His target? The absence of the Squadra Azzurra at the World Cup, which he attributes in part to the current structure of Italian .
Infantino suggested Italy might have been able to qualify with a 64-team format, highlighting the shortcomings of a once-dominant nation. A timely move as the debate on the competitiveness of large traditional teams intensifies. The expansion to 48 teams, planned for 2026, is at the heart of this controversy.
The FIFA president uses this as an argument to point out the structural weaknesses of Italian football, far from being isolated. This outing comes as Italy, European champion in 2021, continues to perform poorly in qualifying. A questioning that goes beyond the simple sporting framework.
The 48-team format redistributes the cards by offering more places to developing nations. For Italy, this means increased competition within Europe itself, where teams like Poland or Turkey have taken advantage of this dynamic to reposition themselves. Infantino uses this reality to highlight the urgency of structural reform in Italy, where clubs are struggling to develop talent capable of competing with the world's best teams.
This criticism is part of a broader FIFA strategy, which focuses on expanding competitions to reduce the gap between rich nations and others. For Italy, the message is clear: either it adapts, or it risks seeing its status as a great football nation crumble permanently. The Squadra Azzurra will have to prove on the pitch that it can be reborn, or accept that its golden age is definitively behind it.
Infantino uses the expansion of the World Cup to point out the weaknesses of Italian football, a strong signal about the declining competitiveness of the great traditional nations. A criticism that questions: have the historical structures of calcio become a brake? The debate goes beyond Italian football.
FIFA is pushing its reform agenda using the weaknesses of major nations as leverage. The expansion to 48 teams is not just a sporting change: it is a redistribution of powers. Traditional federations, like Italy, are seeing their influence diminish in favor of new emerging powers.
This dynamic forces the old guard to rethink their model, or risk disappearing from international radar. Italian clubs, once pillars of European training, are suffering a crisis of results. Serie A, once competitive, is struggling to retain talent in the face of the financial attraction of the Premier League or La Liga.
Infantino is not only talking about the national selection: he is pointing to a system in crisis, where young talents prefer to leave Italy rather than progress there. Without profound reform, the Squadra Azzurra could become a symbol of decline, and no longer of excellence. What's next: The next qualifiers for Euro 2028, co-hosted by Italy, could reveal whether the Squadra Azzurra has learned the lessons from these failures. Read at Ouest-France Sport
Infantino uses the expansion of the World Cup to point out the weaknesses of Italian football, a strong signal about the declining competitiveness of the great traditional nations. A criticism that questions: have the historical structures of calcio become a brake? Italian clubs, once trainers of talent, are now struggling to keep up with the major European championships. FIFA is taking the opportunity to accelerate its enlargement strategy, transforming a dig into a political argument to justify the reform of world football.
Ouest-France Sportouest-france.frJun 12, 3:57 PMfr
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