Gennaro Gattuso was appointed Italy’s new head coach on Sunday, following the sack of Luciano Spalletti, and he will guide the Azzurri in their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Gattuso, 47, was a member of the team that won the World Cup in 2006 and earned 73 caps while playing for the national side.
The Italian football federation (FIGC) announced that Gattuso will be introduced to the press on Thursday.
Italy, a four-time World Cup champion who has not made it to the last two World Cups, began its quest to participate in next year’s tournament in North America with a 3-0 defeat against Norway last week. Italy’s next qualifying matches in Group I will be against Estonia and Israel in September.
Gattuso, a seasoned coach, was previously in charge of the Croatian team Hajduk Split, guiding them to qualification for next season’s UEFA Conference League.
His coaching career also includes stints at AC Milan, where he played 468 matches, Napoli, Valencia, and Marseille.
Spalletti was dismissed following the loss to Norway, and his final game in charge came with Monday’s victory over Moldova.
The Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after losing a play-off to Sweden and also missed out on the 2022 finals in Qatar, where they suffered a surprising defeat in the play-offs to North Macedonia.
