Luciano Spalletti has been dismissed from his position as the coach of Italy following a significant defeat to Norway; however, he will still oversee the upcoming match against Moldova. Spalletti made this announcement during a press conference after Norway shocked Italy with a 3-0 victory on Friday, marking a disheartening beginning to their World Cup qualifying campaign.
“Last night, I met with (Italian football federation) president (Gabriele) Gravina. He informed me that I would be relieved of my duties as the national team’s coach,” Spalletti stated on Sunday.” I had no desire to resign. I would have preferred to remain in my position and continue my work. I will be present tomorrow evening for the match against Moldova, after which we will address the contract situation.
“Spalletti’s termination follows less than two years in the role, having succeeded Roberto Mancini and taken over in September 2023. Although Spalletti led Italy to Euro 2024, their underwhelming performance there had already placed the manager under scrutiny.
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Italy entered the Euros last year in Germany as the defending champions, but after winning their first match against Albania, they suffered a defeat to Spain and managed only a late draw with Croatia, advancing to the last 16 where they were eliminated 2-0 by Switzerland.
Spalletti’s team appeared to have regained form during an impressive Nations League campaign, defeating France 3-1 away and suffering only one loss. They were defeated at home by the French in the final group match, finishing behind France on goal difference. Italy commenced this year with a 2-1 defeat at the San Siro in their Nations League quarter-final first leg against Germany and found themselves trailing 3-0 at halftime in the return match in Dortmund.
Spalletti’s team managed to come back and secure a draw but failed to reach the semi-finals, and when they fell 3-0 behind at halftime against Norway, Italy had no response this time. The defeat left Spalletti’s team already facing a challenging path to secure automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup, and after Italy missed the last two finals, the Italian football federation is now under pressure.
