ROME: Gennaro Gattuso said on Thursday he is convinced Italy can qualify for the World Cup as he begins his reign as Azzurri coach following the dismissal of Luciano Spalletti.

Italy are at risk of missing out on a third consecutive World Cup after a troubled start to their qualifying campaign which has left them nine points behind Group ‘I’ leaders Norway and cost Spalletti his job.

Asked whether he had more hope or conviction that Italy could reach next year’s finals in the US, Canada and Mexico, Gattuso said: “conviction”.

“I believe that we have good players available to us. We have four or five who are among the top 10 in the world in their position,” added Gattuso.

“We have a good team, but I do mean team, I’m not thinking about individuals. I’m convinced that the team has quality and I’m convinced that we can achieve our goal.”

Gattuso has a tough job on his hands with only top spot in the group giving automatic qualification to the World Cup, even with Italy having played two fewer games than Norway.

As well as the significant points gap Italy have a goal difference which is 12 goals worse than Norway, who hammered Italy 3-0 earlier in June.

That leaves Italy with the play-offs, from which they failed to reach the last two tournaments, as their only realistic shot at qualification.

“We need to bring back the enthusiasm and not think negatively. My goal is to make sure that the players that come to [Italy’s training centre] Coverciano do so with great enthusiasm, and to create a family,” said Gattuso.

“After formations, technique and tactics the priority is to recreate that mentality that in the past has made us stand out.”

Gattuso, a World Cup winner in 2006, was not the Italian Football Federation’s first choice to replace Spalletti.

Claudio Ranieri eventually turned down an appeal to come out of retirement, for a second time, to save his country’s footballing fortunes.

But Italy icon Gianluigi Buffon, now head of the national team delegation, said he believes Gattuso is capable of defying those who doubt his capabilities after an up-and-down coaching career.

Gattuso, 47, was recently sacked by Hadjuk Split but has also managed AC Milan and Napoli, winning the Italian Cup with the latter club five years ago.

“I had a long playing career and every time I faced once of Rino’s teams with Juventus they gave us a hard time, you had the idea that his teams had a precise identity, and that there was a lot of work and thought behind them,” said Buffon.

“It’s very simple, when you’re on the pitch you can tell straight away if behind the other team there is a good coach or not. And I every time I faced his Milan or Napoli team I could tell that was the case.”

Gattuso will be in the dugout for the first time in September when Italy host Estonia in Bergamo before travelling to Hungary to take on Israel.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025