It hasn’t even been a year since Pio Esposito discovered the Italian selection. Called up for the first time by Gennaro Gattuso in August 2025, the young Inter Milan striker (20 years old) has already experienced one of the worst disappointments of his career with the Nazionale by failing to qualify for the World Cup. Worse, he even missed a shot on goal against Bosnia on Tuesday evening, dragging his team into the abyss.
The image of Esposito with his hands on his face, his jersey pulled up to eye level, is taken up by many Italian media, such as Gazzetta dello Sportwho does not mince his words to describe the new disaster experienced by the Squadra Azzurra in Bosnia: “The Italian catastrophe is no longer surprising; it seems to have become the norm. For the first time, an entire generation will have grown up without seeing Italy in the World Cup. »
« After Sweden, after North Macedonia, it was Bosnia which erased us from the competition that we have always considered ours, to the point of having won it four times (more than anyone, with the exception of Brazil), writes the daily in another article. She no longer belongs to us. Not at all anymore. »
“Hoping for a revolution”
The Corriere dello Sport doesn’t hold back either: “There was a time when we beat Zico, Socrates, Junior, Passarella, Maradona, Rummenigge, Stielike. Today, we are struggling against a forty-year-old who has a lot of miles in his legs and a group of players full of good will. Bosnia brought us to our knees, made us suffer, took our breath away. Qualification had become a question of national dignity: not participating in a tournament open to 48 nations is simply humiliating. Those who signed the project, those who wanted and supported it cannot bear this third failure. »
TuttoSport decided to hit the Inter Milan players, and in particular Bastoni, who was sent off just before half-time, before also demanding accountability: “We are now awaiting the decisions of the highest authorities, if not sporting, at least political, hoping for a revolution and not the usual and embarrassing defense of positions, salaries and privileges by those who are killing Italian football. »
TuttoSport is already planning on the future of the Nazionale: “In the desolate moor of Zenica, the unimaginable happened: we were eliminated for the third time in a row from the World Cup and, to see the Azzurri on the field again in an official competition, we will have to wait until the fall, with the Nations League. Performing well will give an additional chance of qualifying for Euro 2028: at least there, since the format was expanded, we have always been present. » Relentless.
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