Luciano Spalletti sacked as Italy head coach: Two ‘frontrunners’ emerge for national team job

Luciano Spalletti has remarkably announced his own sacking as Italy's head coach at a press conference on Sunday after his team suffered a 3-0 defeat to Norway in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Friday.

The Azzurri conceded three first-half goals in Oslo to fall to a disappointing defeat in their opening qualifier in Group I, slipping nine points behind early leaders Norway who have played two games more.

Defeat for Italy comes after losing a two-legged quarter-final with Germany (5-4 on aggregate) in the UEFA Nations League in March, while Spalletti’s side were also eliminated at the last-16 stage of Euro 2024 by Switzerland.

The 66-year-old revealed to the media that he will take charge of his final game as national team boss on Monday when Italy welcome Moldova to Mapei Stadium for their second World Cup qualifier.

"Last night we were very together with president [Gabriele] Gravina. He told me that I will be relieved of my position as coach of the national team," Spalletti said at a pre-match press conference.

"I was disappointed. I had never intended on giving up, especially when things are going badly. I would have preferred to keep my position and continue doing my job.

Spalletti to leave Italy job on Monday after confirming his own sacking

“I have to acknowledge, in respect of the good relationship that I have with the president, the journey we have undertaken and his support of me. Given that I've seen this role as a commitment to the country, I intend to support the national team in any way in the future.

“Tomorrow evening I'll be there as a coach, and then I will terminate my contract. It would've been worse playing the game today with this doubt and speculation.

“After speaking to the president, we decided on doing it like this, taking responsibility. Even though I won't be the coach, we have to fulfil this duty".

Spalletti, who stormed out of his press conference shortly after confirming his imminent departure, has been in charge of Italy since succeeding Roberto Mancini in September 2023.

The Serie A title winner with Napoli in 2022-23 has taken charge of 23 international matches in total across all competitions, winning 11, drawing six and losing six.

FIGC president denies rift with Spalletti

FIGC president Gabriele Gravina also spoke to the media to clarify Spalletti’s position and to dismiss speculation of a rift between the two, adding: "These instrumental and useless attacks are hurtful. I was annoyed by the lack of accurate information on the subject.

“Luciano Spalletti is the most honourable person that I've ever met. He's an extraordinary person, who is trying to bring forward an extraordinary project. The attacks towards him are undeserved.

“I say it with pain and bitterness because he's a really good person. You can lose, but you have to understand how you lose, the kind of thing Gigi Buffon refers to, which could and should have led to a better outcome.

“Understanding how you lose, but a loss like that, I couldn't accept. There's no rift, just a lack of clarity and there's also fatigue. We have to go to the World Cup, there's lots of games to go".

Ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, Italy are now on the lookout for a replacement coach, 12 months before the World Cup takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Who could succeed Spalletti as Italy head coach?

According to Football Italia, Claudio Ranieri and Stefano Pioli have emerged as the two frontrunners for the national team job, with the latter currently regarded as the more ‘viable’ option.

Piolo has been in charge of Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr since September last year and steered the club to a third-placed finish in the 2024-25 campaign.

The 59-year-old’s senior managerial career spans across more than two decades during which he has coached the likes of AC Milan, Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Lazio, Bologna and Parma, most notably leading the former to the 2021-22 Serie A title.

Ranieri, meanwhile, has just departed his interim role in charge of Roma where he won 61.1% of his 22 matches across all tournaments and guided the Italian giants to a fifth-placed finish in Serie A, securing Europa League football for next season.

The 73-year-old has managed 18 different clubs across his 39-year managerial career, including Leicester City where he won a historic Premier League title in 2016-17, while he also spent just four months in charge of Greece in 2014, failing to win any of his four games in charge.

Written by
Oliver Thomas