Italy’s latest World Cup failure has triggered major changes at the top, with Gianluigi Buffon stepping down as head of delegation shortly after Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina resigned, deepening the fallout from the Azzurri’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-offs.

That loss on Tuesday made Italy the first former World Cup winners to miss three straight tournaments, and the four-time champions now face at least a 16-year absence from the finals, having last appeared in 2014 and last reached a knockout match in the 2006 final against France.

The FIGC confirmed on Thursday that Gravina had offered his resignation following the play-off exit, and Buffon soon followed. Buffon explained that the decision was already made internally, but the timing of the public announcement was delayed until Gravina’s future became clear within Italian football’s leadership structure.

Buffon, who made 176 appearances for Italy, remains both the most-capped goalkeeper in international football and the most-capped player in Azzurri history. The former captain had been appointed head of delegation to support the squad and staff, yet the main objective of guiding Italy back to the World Cup was not met.

{TABLE_1}

{TABLE_1} should summarise Italy’s recent World Cup record and Buffon’s international numbers in a clear way for readers. It can include tournament years missed, the last knockout appearance in 2006, and outline Buffon’s 176 caps, highlighting how those figures frame the current crisis and underline the scale of disappointment.

Buffon said the choice to leave was made instantly after the Bosnia-Herzegovina match but was held back at the request of others within the FIGC. The former goalkeeper linked this emotional moment to the shared frustration of supporters, and framed the resignation as a response to failure against a key target.

“Resigning one minute after the end of the match against Bosnia was an urgent act, one that came from deep within me, as spontaneous as the tears and heartache I share with all of you, Buffon wrote on X. I was asked to hold off, to give everyone time to reflect properly. Now that president Gravina has chosen to step back, I feel free to do what I see as an act of responsibility. The main goal was to bring Italy back to the World Cup. And we didn’t succeed. Representing the national team is, for me, an honour and a passion that has consumed me since I was a kid.”

Italy World Cup project and Buffon’s role

During Buffon’s time as head of delegation, the aim was to link age groups and senior staff. Buffon worked with different national team head coaches to connect youth teams with the senior side, focusing on the pathway from early development stages through to the under-21 squad.

“I tried to carry out my role by putting all my energy into it, linking all the teams, working with the various head coaches to structure a project that starts from the youngest and goes all the way to the under-21s. All of this was to rethink the way we nurture the talents of the future senior players. It will be up to those responsible to judge the success of these choices. I carry everything in my heart, with gratitude for the privilege and the lessons that, even in this painful ending, this intense experience leaves me with. Forza Azzurri, always.”

Italy will again follow the World Cup from afar, while Bosnia-Herzegovina move on to prepare for their opening group fixture. Bosnia-Herzegovina are scheduled to face co-hosts Canada in Toronto on 11 June, a match that now also marks the next chapter for the team that ended Italy’s qualifying hopes.