Donnarumma Vows Italy Rebuild After Third World Cup Miss
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- Italy crashed out of World Cup contention for the third straight tournament, drawing 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina before losing the play-off final 4-1 on penalties, with Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missing their spot kicks.
- Donnarumma said he "cried because of the enormous sadness" of the defeat in an Instagram post, vowing it would take "a lot of strength, passion, and conviction" to restore Italy "back where it deserves to be."
- Donnarumma failed to save any of Bosnia's penalties, was held back by teammates at full-time after trying to confront celebrating Bosnia players, and reportedly damaged opposing goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj's penalty-takers cheat sheet during a shootout argument.
- Italy played most of the match with 10 men after defender Alessandro Bastoni received a first-half red card, forcing Donnarumma into numerous second-half saves.
- FIGC president Gabriele Gravina faced calls to resign from the League Party — a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition — and from sport minister Andrea Abodi, who said Italian football must be "rebuilt from the ground up."
- Italy's last World Cup knockout victory came in 2006, when they beat France to lift the trophy — a drought the BBC framed by noting Leicester City has since won the Premier League and Ballon d'Or runner-up Lamine Yamal was not yet born.
- Donnarumma, 27, has never played at a World Cup, having been 15 when Italy exited the 2014 group stage, meaning his next chance would not come until he is at least 31.
Why it matters: Italy's third straight qualifying failure has triggered calls for FIGC president Gabriele Gravina to resign from across Italy's political spectrum, including a Meloni coalition party and the sport minister. For Donnarumma — 27, yet to play at a World Cup — the personal cost is equally stark: his next chance won't come until he is at least 31.
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