Pitch Points: could Italy really miss another World Cup? And why has Wirtz started slowly at Liverpool? | Italy

Could Italy really miss another World Cup?

When next summer’s World Cup begins, it will be 12 years since Italy last participated in the tournament which it has won more times (four) than any other nation except Brazil (five) and Germany (also four). The way things are going, the AzzurriThe 12-year wait for World Cup qualification could become a minimum of 16 years.

Italy is still in the running for qualification. Gennaro Gattuso’s side are just two points behind Norway in Group I. Azzurri it still remains to welcome Erling Haaland and co. in their final group match. It could be a single-match shootout to decide which team qualifies directly for the World Cup.

That Italy has missed the last two World Cups is somewhat anomalous given the Azzurri won Euro 2020, but their qualifying drought has caused a lot of soul-searching. The basis of Italian football has been examined. Where the country once produced superstars out of sheer habit, it now struggles to make a difference at the elite level.

Moise Kean has recently emerged as one of those actors who makes a difference. The Fiorentina striker has scored four goals in his last three outings for the national team while Mateo Retegui also registered nine goals in wins over Estonia and Israel. Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti in June, has at least brought some life to the Italian attack.

In Italy’s last World Cup triumph twenty years ago, they had more icons than a Florence gallery – Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti and many others. Italy are now far from that level, regardless of how their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign ends.

Why isn’t this happening for Wirtz right now?

Liverpool paid $155m (£116m) to sign Florian Wirtz this summer because they believed he was a safe bet. The 22-year-old was widely regarded as a generational talent and the Premier League champions saw an opportunity to strengthen their squad in a position of strength, beating Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid with the signing of Wirtz.

So far, though, the $155 million man has been a disappointment. Wirtz is yet to score a single goal or assist in seven Premier League matches and has even been sent to the bench by Arne Slot for some matches. Slot says Wirtz is “adapting” while Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann also defended his player.

According to Nagelsmann, it’s “not his fault that his teammates don’t convert” the chances created by Wirtz, and he could be right. Only Cody Gakpo (14) and Mohamed Salah (12) have created more chances than Wirtz (11) for Liverpool this season. His expected assists (xA) also rank highly.

In Liverpool’s final game before the international break against Chelsea, Wirtz created a glorious opportunity for Salah, pirouetting to brilliantly set up the Egyptian for a shot inside the box only to be lucky to be pushed away. In the previous match against Galatasaray, Wirtz had the most shots of any Liverpool player and the second most key passes.

Nonetheless, anyone who has watched Wirtz for Liverpool this season has not seen the same player who lit up the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen. Wirtz may be contributing more than many give him credit for, but so far those contributions aren’t worth $155 million.

Does Poch finally manage to join the USMNT?

When US Soccer hired Mauricio Pochettino as the most expensive head coach in U.S. men’s national team history, few would have imagined his process would take a full year to bear fruit. Fruit (maybe lemons), however, is definitely starting to appear. The USMNT is finally starting to look like a Pochettino team.

The performance in the 1-1 draw against Ecuador was the best yet under the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur boss. The United States played with intensity. They managed the opposition press well. There was movement and quick decision-making in the final third, as well as an eye-catching individual performance from Folarin Balogun as number 9, the United States’ most problematic position. Haji Wright also made his mark by scoring a brace in the 2-1 victory against Australia.

For a long time, he wasn’t sure if Pochettino would ever reach his players. March’s defeats against Panama and Canada left a smell so strong that Pochettino spent the following months spreading it. He has publicly questioned the attitude of his players, including his best player after Christian Pulisic skipped the Gold Cup to rest this summer. Performance was poor. Some were worse than that.

It was only last month that Alexi Lalas suggested that US Soccer should fire Pochettino. Sure, Lalas was Lalas, but few would have argued that the Argentine justified his $6 million-a-year salary at that point. Something has changed since then, however, and the USMNT finally has something to fall back on. The fear surrounding the 2026 World Cup at home has subsided. Slightly.