It's a sad reality for Italian football that four-time world champions Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. The team's failure to make it to the World Cup is a heartbreaking story for Italian and international football, especially for those who have never played in a World Cup and probably will never have the chance.
The playing XI that took the field in the play-off final loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday, including Gianluigi Donnarumma, Gianluca Mancini, and Matteo Politano, will probably never know what it feels like to play in a World Cup. This generation of players will miss out on the kind of celebrity status that Italian legends Paolo Maldini, Alessandro del Piero, and Gianluigi Buffon enjoyed through their spectacular shows in World Cups.
Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup is a result of the degradation of Italian football, which started right after their failure to make it to the Round of 16 in 2014. The team's stars from that campaign, like Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo, and Giorgio Chiellini, wouldn't have had any inkling of the impending doom in Italian football.
The fallout of yet another terrible campaign has started, with Gabriele Gravina, head of Italy's football association, resigning, and Gianluigi Buffon, working in the capacity of delegation head with the men's team, deciding to quit. Italian football has descended into an abyss from which the return could take forever.
