FIFA President Infantino joked about the Italian national team

FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked on June 12 that the Italian national football team once again failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Infantino noted that FIFA had already discussed the issue of expanding the World Cup to 64 national teams and expressed the opinion that then the Italians would be able to qualify for the world Championship.

"And then we could go to 208 to see if they can be selected," Eurosport quoted him as saying.

The Italian national team has failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. The 2026 World Cup started on June 11 and will last until July 19. For the first time, the tournament is hosted by three countries — the USA, Canada and Mexico, and 48 national teams participate in it.

The head coach of the Italian national football team, Gennaro Gattuso, left his post on April 3 after the team he was preparing failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The ex-coach himself, commenting on what was happening, "with pain in his heart" admitted that the goals set for him had not been achieved.