Gennaro Gattuso is satisfied Italy can qualify for the World Cup as he begins his reign as Azzurri coach following the dismissal of Luciano Spalletti earlier this month.
Spalletti confirmed he had been sacked in a press convention, off the again of a 3-0 defeat to Norway in World Cup qualifying, earlier than main Italy to a 2-0 win over Moldova.
Italy are vulnerable to lacking out on a 3rd consecutive World Cup, with their latest run leaving them 9 factors behind Group I leaders Norway.
Requested whether or not he had extra hope or conviction that Italy might attain subsequent yr’s finals in the US, Canada and Mexico, Gattuso stated: “conviction”.
“I imagine that now we have good gamers out there to us. We now have 4 or 5 who’re among the many prime 10 on the planet of their place,” added Gattuso.
“We now have an excellent crew, however I do imply crew, I’m not fascinated by people. I’m satisfied that the crew has high quality and I’m satisfied that we are able to obtain our aim.”
Reside Press Convention
https://t.co/EwHodhPFUs #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/Mv3MWtcDBd— Italy (@Azzurri_En) June 19, 2025
Gattuso has a troublesome job on his fingers with solely prime spot within the group giving them computerized qualification to the World Cup, even with Italy enjoying two video games lower than Norway.
In addition to the numerous factors hole, Italy have a aim distinction which is 12 objectives worse than Norway’s, who hammered them earlier in June.
Certainly, it noticed Italy concede a minimum of three objectives within the first half of a World Cup qualifying match for the primary time of their historical past.
That leaves Italy with the play-offs, from which they failed to succeed in the final two tournaments, as their solely practical shot at qualification.
“My aim is that whoever involves the coaching floor comes with nice enthusiasm and to create a household,” stated Gattuso.
“The first goal is to create a way of belonging” to the Azzurri crew, Gattuso additionally instructed reporters throughout his presentation.
The brand new coach stated he believed gamers felt the stress of getting missed out on qualification for 2 World Cups in a row and that was weighing on the crew’s efficiency.
“We have to be good at reacting. Solely those that react and provides all of it can get out of this case,” he stated.
Gattuso will probably be within the dugout for the primary time in September when Italy host Estonia in Bergamo earlier than travelling to Hungary to tackle Israel.