Gennaro Gattuso must now follow through on unthinkable act after Italy fail to qualify for World Cup

Gennaro Gattuso vowed to flee the country and "live far away" if Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time.

On an unforgettable Tuesday evening at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, Italy missed out on another World Cup after losing to underdogs Bosnia and Herzegovina in a dramatic penalty shootout.

The four-time World Cup winners, who were reduced to 10 men after Alessandro Bastoni was sent off in the 41st minute, were beaten 4-1 on penalties after the teams played out a 1-1 draw following extra time.

The past two decades have been a struggle for the Italians. After being knocked out in the group stages in both the 2010 and 2014 editions, they failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament, falling at the play-off stage.

Once again, they were eliminated from the 2022 qualifiers after suffering at the hands of North Macedonia, but their failure to make the 2026 World Cup feels more significant.

Gennaro Gattuso pictured after Italy's defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Image credit: Getty

Gennaro Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti as head coach in 2025, was initially optimistic about Italy's chances of reaching this summer's World Cup.

"I believe that we have good players available to us," he said in June last year. "We have four or five who are among the top 10 in the world in their position."

"We have a good team, but I do mean team, I'm not thinking about individuals. I'm convinced that the team has quality and I'm convinced that we can achieve our goal," added Gattuso, who won his opening four games as the Azzurri coach.

Four months later, after Italy secured a play-off spot following a 3-0 win over Israel, the former AC Milan midfielder made a rather bold vow.

“I’ll take credit if I reach the target (World Cup qualification); otherwise, I’ll move away from Italy. I’m already living quite far away, but I’d go even further away,” he said, as per Football Italia.

"I'm already a bit far away," Gattuso added. "I'll go even further."

Gennaro Gattuso reacts to Italy's failure to qualify for World Cup

Speaking about Italy’s latest setback, Gattuso was visibly emotional as he spoke about their efforts against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“These lads didn’t deserve this, for the effort, the love, the determination. We had three chances, and most of their crosses were barely tickling us," he told RAI Sport.

Gattuso was emotional after Italy's loss to Bosnia. Image credit: Getty

“I am still proud of my lads. If you poke me with a dagger today, nothing will come out, my blood is all gone. It was important for the Italian football movement and it feels bad to go out like this.

“I don’t want to talk about the referee or anything, but it’s fair today, this is football. I’ve been in football for many years, I celebrated and I got thumped, like today, but it’s hard to swallow this.

“I was surprised too by the sheer heart and determination they showed today. We were there under siege, in the trenches. Yet here we are talking about not making it to the World Cup again."

Gattuso added: “I personally apologise for not having made it, but these lads gave absolutely everything.”