Next Italy manager: Gennaro Gattuso ‘expected’ to leave as two ‘top-tier’ replacements emerge after 2026 World Cup heartache

Gennaro Gattuso is set to leave his position as Italy head coach, according to multiple reports.

The 48-year-old took charge of the national team in June 2025, succeeding Luciano Spalletti, and was tasked with steering the Azzurri to the 2026 World Cup.

However, Italy suffered a painful playoff final defeat on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday night following a 1-1 draw with 10 men across 120 minutes.

Four-time world champions Italy have now become the first former winner to miss three consecutive World Cup finals, after also suffering playoff heartache against Sweden and North Macedonia in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

After the defeat in Bosnia, Gattuso was left in tears and insisted that discussions over his future as Italy boss were “not important”.

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina later confirmed that he has asked both Gattuso and delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon to “remain” in their roles, despite Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.

However, journalist Fabrizio Romano has posted on X that Gattuso is now ‘expected’ to leave his post as head coach, while Sky Sports Italia claims that both Gattuso and Buffon will ‘say goodbye’ to the national team.

Capello calls for resignations after Italy’s “sporting tragedy”

This news comes after renowned Italian manager Fabio Capello gave a scathing assessment of the Azzuri’s third consecutive World Cup playoff defeat and questioned why no senior figures have resigned.

“I could not sleep all night, I still cannot believe what happened,” Capello said via LLSN. “We are talking about a four-time world champion. This is a sporting tragedy, a disgrace. It is one of the worst things to have happened to Italian football in its recent history.

“Nobody is resigning here, and that is the most worrying thing,” he said. “The first person who should take responsibility is the president of the federation, along with the entire leadership.”

Capello added: “This is not just about results, it is structural. Italy needs to reinvent itself. We must bring together the experts, analyse what is happening and begin a reconstruction from the foundations.

“It will be very difficult to recover from this, but I trust it will serve as the beginning of a genuine renewal.”

Next Italy manager: Allegri, Conte two ‘standout’ names to replace Gattuso

Sky Sport Italia claims that Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte are the two ‘top-tier’ names who could be considered for the role of Italy head coach.

However, both managers are under contract at AC Milan and Napoli respectively and it remains uncertain whether either Serie A club would be willing to let their coaches leave.

Conte previously coached Italy for two years and won 14 of his 25 games in charge before departing after a quarter-final elimination at Euro 2016.

As for Allegri, he is yet to experience international management across his 22-year career on the coaching circuit, but having only joined Milan in May last year, it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to end his spell at San Siro.

Could Motta enter the frame for Italy job?

Meanwhile, another name who could emerge as a contender for the Italy job is former midfielder Thiago Motta, who has been out of work since being sacked by Juventus just over 12 months ago.

While Allegri and Conte have won 11 Serie A titles between them as managers, Motta is yet to win any major honours as a coach, but his management style at Genoa, Spezia and Bologna received plenty of plaudits before he took the Juve job in July 2024.