Gennaro Gattuso Not Interested in Talking About the Future at the Italian National Team

JAKARTA - Italy National Team (Timnas) coach Gennaro Gattuso said this is not the right time to talk about his future even though the Azzurri failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.

Although Gattuso has not decided whether to stay or not, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has given a clear signal that they want him to stay.

Italy, four-time World Cup champions, lost on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina who are ranked 66th in the Second Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification for the UEFA Zone on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, early morning WIB, after playing almost the entire match with 10 players.

"I'm not interested at all in talking about my future today. It's painful, really painful. More than just hurting me, it hurts to see this team that has given everything over the past few months."

"I think we deserve to get back what we have given. Honestly I think it's too underestimated and too childish to talk about my future today."

"Here we should talk about Italy, about the national team uniform, that this is another blow even though this time we didn't deserve it. We deserve more and that's why my future is not important," said Gattuso.

Italy were eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in the qualifying rounds for the previous two World Cups.

Gattuso was hired in June 2025 to replace Luciano Spalletti who was fired, in the hope that Italy could break the negative record when appearing in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

He is under contract until the end of this summer's 2026 World Cup, with an automatic extension to 2028 if Italy reach the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"I have to praise Gattuso. I think he is a great coach, he is a great coach, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I have asked him to stay, I

However, whether Gravina should remain in place is still up for debate. He said he had asked for a meeting of the FIGB Council next week to evaluate the matter.

Gravina has overseen two disappointing World Cup qualifying campaigns after taking over in 2018. He replaced Carlo Tavecchio, who resigned after Italy failed to reach the 2018 World Cup.

Not every Italian coach has to bear the consequences of the Azzurri's failure to reach the World Cup.

Gian Piero Ventura was sacked after Italy lost to Sweden but his successor, Roberto Mancini, kept his job despite Italy's surprise defeat to North Macedonia in 2022.

It comes just eight months after Mancini led the team to the Euro 2020 title in July 2021 and the federation decided to keep the coach who has revitalized the Italian national team.

Mancini surprisingly resigned just over a year later. He then became coach of Saudi Arabia two weeks later and was replaced by Spalletti.

However, Spalletti, who oversaw a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, only managed one game of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers before being sacked and Gattuso replacing him.

The defeat against Bosnia-Herzegovina added to the woes of the once-vaunted Italy, who have won the World Cup four times. The Azzurri were the first World Cup winners to fail to qualify for three consecutive years.