Italians woke up angry and disillusioned on Wednesday after the national team missed out on the World Cup for the third time in a row by losing a playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina, prolonging a sporting nightmare for the soccer-mad country.
"The World Cup curse," said the front page of Italy's main daily Corriere della Sera, calling for rebuilding in a country that has produced some of the game's greatest players but has won only one match at the finals since lifting the trophy for the fourth time in 2006.
Headlines in La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, the country's two main sports newspapers, both said "We're all staying at home", in reference to another summer without a World Cup.
Fans in Rome were left stunned after Italy suffered a 4-1 penalty shootout loss to Bosnia on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw, their third playoff defeat in a row after losing to Sweden and North Macedonia.
"Everything went badly from the start of the match. The team wasn't good, players out of form coming in and playing (anyway)… it makes no sense. Honestly, I'm shocked," said Davide Caldaretta, who watched the game at a city pub.
"The Azzurri" last qualified for the World Cup finals in 2014, where Bosnia made their only previous appearance at the tournament. The Balkan team will play in Group B this year with co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
Captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who failed to save any of Bosnia's four penalties, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he cried after the game.
"There is one thing I feel strongly inside and I want to share with you, after such a huge disappointment, we must find the courage to turn the page, once again," he added.
"And to do that, we need strength, passion, and conviction. And this is where we must start again. Together. Once again. To bring Italy back to where it deserves to be."
NATIONAL OUTRAGE
The defeat sparked outrage across the country, with political parties calling on Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina to resign.
"It is an unacceptable disgrace. Italian football needs a complete overhaul, starting with the resignation of Gabriele Gravina," the League Party, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition, wrote on Instagram.
Gravina said an assessment of his position would be made at a federal council meeting scheduled to take place next week.
Italy's Sports Minister Andrea Abodi described it as a "definitive defeat" and suggested that Italian football needs to be "rebuilt from the ground up".
"When we fail to qualify for the World Cup for three consecutive tournaments, perhaps it would be wise to reflect on the situation," Abodi told reporters.
"This is no ordinary day and it is not a day on which it is enough, or satisfactory, to simply pass the buck by saying that we expected more from the organisation.
"First and foremost, comes the responsibility and awareness of what has happened – not just yesterday, because this is not the first time."
Italy went down to 10 men in the 42nd minute with Alessandro Bastoni punished for a late last-man tackle, a key turning point in the match with Italy leading at the time.
"(We feel) really upset and disappointed. Even when you're let down you always hold out hope. And this is the third time in a row," said Italy fan Melanie Cardillo.
Even Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe said he felt 'sick' on behalf of Italy.
"A dark dawn for Italy. The day after failing to qualify. Again," he wrote on X. "How is this possible with so much talent?"