Pio Esposito has only been discovered by the Italian national team for less than a year. First called up by Gennaro Gattuso in August 2025, the young striker from Inter Milan (20 years old) recently experienced a career low with the Azzurri by failing to qualify for the World Cup. His missed penalty shot against Bosnia on Tuesday night plunged his team into despair.
The image of Esposito with his hands on his face, shirt pulled up to his eyes, has been widely circulated by Italian media outlets like Gazzetta dello Sport, which did not hold back in describing the new disaster suffered 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 and North Macedonia, Bosnia has now knocked us out of a competition we have always considered our own, having won it four times (more than anyone except Brazil), the newspaper wrote in another article. It no longer belongs to us. Not at all.
Hoping for a revolution, Corriere dello Sport also criticized the Italian team, saying, “We used to beat Zico, Socrates, Junior, Passarella, Maradona, Rummenigge, Stielike. Today, we struggle against a forty-year-old with many miles on his legs and a group of well-meaning players. Bosnia brought us to our knees, made us suffer, took our breath away. Qualification had become a matter of national dignity: not participating in a tournament with 48 nations is simply humiliating. Those who designed and supported the project cannot bear this third failure.”
Tuttosport criticized Inter Milan players, especially Bastoni, who was sent off just before halftime, calling for accountability: “We now await decisions from the higher authorities, whether sporting or political, hoping for a revolution and not the usual embarrassing defense of positions, salaries, and privileges by those who are killing Italian football.”
Looking ahead to the future of the national team, Tuttosport stated, “In the desolate landscape of Zenica, the unimaginable has occurred: we have been eliminated for the third consecutive time from the World Cup. To see the Azzurri on the field in an official competition again, we will have to wait until the autumn, with the Nations League. A good performance there will provide an additional chance to qualify for Euro 2028: at least there, since the format was expanded, we have always been competitive.” Relentless.
