Italy Marcello Lippi has shared an anecdote from Italy’s triumphant 2006 World Cup campaign, recalling an incident involving alleged spies that led to the CT instructing his players to pull their shorts down and expose their backsides: ‘I was convinced there were photographers hiding behind the bushes’. 

Lippi on Italy’s ‘spygate’ at 2006 World Cup: ‘Maybe I was wrong’

Lippi spoke in depth in an interview with La Repubblica and shared a few stories from his time in charge of the Italy national team, of course focusing on the journey to winning the 2006 World Cup. 

While training in Dortmund ahead of their semi-final against Germany 20 years ago, Lippi was so convinced that photographers were sneaking around the Italy training base in an attempt to gather information on the team’s tactics and personnel, that he ended up telling his players to pull down their shorts and show their backsides to these alleged ‘spies’. 

“I was so sure,” Lippi recalled. “After training one day, I told the boys to stand in front of a certain bush and pull their shorts down. I was convinced that there were photographers hiding behind them. 

“As no pictures of that moment came out, maybe I was wrong,” Lippi conceded. 

Italy would go on to beat Germany in their semi-final thanks to a dramatic quickfire double from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero in the final two minutes of extra-time before going on to defeat France on penalties in the 2006 World Cup final. 

• Read more: Why Italy will not be participating at the 2026 World Cup

Former Italy star Marco Materazzi taunts his former Inter teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic: ‘With what he’s doing, he’s the biggest Inter fan in history.’

Safe to say it hasn’t been an easy summer for ex-Milan and Inter star Ibrahimovic, who is currently leading the Rossoneri’s rebuild as a senior advisor to Gerry Cardinale.

Materazzi jokes: Ibrahimovic is the biggest Inter fan

Milan sacked coach Massimiliano Allegri and directors Giorgio Furlani, Geoffrey Moncada and Igli Tare at the end of the 2025-26 campaign without having a clear plan B.

They did hire Ruben Amorim as their new coach on a three-year deal, but missed out first on Ralf Rangnick and then on Markus Kroche as Football Directors, meaning the Serie A giants are still without a leading figure deciding on the sporting project and new signings.

Questioned about his rivalry with Ibrahimovic during their playing career, ex-Inter defender Materazzi told Gazzetta: “For me, it was just an on-the-field matter. I don’t know about him. I can’t really say anything about him because, with what he’s doing, he’s the biggest Inter fan in history.”

The dispute between Ibra and Materazzi began in 2009, when the Swede pushed to join Barcelona and ultimately completed the move in a swap deal involving Samuel Eto’o.

“Eto’o knew he was strong; he had an incredible ego, but he put himself at the team’s disposal with humility,” Materazzi said.

“Even if, in footballing terms, he’s not the most humble I’ve ever met, he always gave his all for the team.

“He didn’t care whether Milito, Materazzi or Zanetti would score. What mattered was to lift the trophies. For this reason, I’ll forever be grateful to Ibrahimovic, as he left Barcelona and let us get Eto’o.”

Italy are at a crossroads and need to rebuild again after missing out on the World Cup for the third consecutive time. In this new episode of the Football Italia Summer Show, Lorenzo Bettoni and Richard Hall discuss who should remain in the Azzurri squad and who should be cut.

New day and new episode of the Football Italia Summer Show on YouTube.

Keep or drop? Assessing the future of the Italy national team

In our very first episode alongside TNT Sports commentator Adam Summerton earlier this week, we discussed Roberto Mancini’s potential return as the Azzurri national team coach.

Today, we examine the options for the incoming Nazionale boss.

Starting from Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy squad for the World Cup play-off in March, Richard Hall and Lorenzo Bettoni named the Italy players who should be given a second chance and those who should not be part of the new project.

Check out our YouTube page for all the episodes of the Football Italia Summer Show and our daily transfer updates.

If you haven’t done it yet, subscribe to the channel and join the conversation with your questions and thoughts!

Italy’s rebuild: Who stays and who goes?

Watch the full episode below

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti confirms he’ll ‘make some changes’ for the second World Cup group stage game against Haiti: ‘We have to find a solution.’

Brazil face Haiti in their second group stage game at the 2026 World Cup on Saturday, June 20 at 2:30 CET Friday, June 19 at 6:30 pm local time.

Ancelotti’s side had a disappointing start to the tournament, grabbing a 1-1 draw against Morocco, which dominated proceedings for much of the match.

Brazil vs. Haiti – Ancelotti confirms line-up changes

“The team can and must do more,” Ancelotti admitted at a pre-match press conference via Corriere dello Sport.

“We’ll make some changes, maybe bring in a fresher player. We need to improve our balance and the quality of our play. Make fewer steps wrong. We have the quality to do it, to play a fun game.

“I have no problem communicating initial training. Football has no secrets, but I prefer to tell the players first,” Ancelotti added.

“Against Morocco, the match didn’t go well and makes me a bit critical of the team. We have to find a solution. We have been working over the past few days to try to resolve the situation, and I believe we will succeed because I continue to trust that the team will be competitive in this World Cup.”

According to Gazzetta, Ancelotti will make three changes to the Brazil XI, but Endrick is expected to remain on the bench.

Douglas Santos is expected to replace Alex Sandro as left-back, Fabinho should replace Casemiro in central midfield, while Luiz Henrique will replace Paquetà, Gazzetta claims.

“We have to do many things well: defend with a low block, attack, exploit individual quality, be aggressive forward, lower the block, defend in our own area,” Ancelotti continued.

“Haiti is a very balanced team, with above all physical quality, well organised and with a rather clear system.

“They play good football given their characteristics. We must respect everyone because this is a World Cup and everyone is very motivated.”

Probable Brazil XI vs. Haiti (4-2-4): Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos; Fabinho, Bruno Guimarães; Raphinha, Vinícius, Matheus Cunha, Luiz Henrique.

Igor Protti’s family has announced the death of the former Italian striker at the age of 58 and, in accordance with his wishes, shared his final message: ‘This wonderful journey, like every match, has reached the final whistle.’

Former Italian striker Protti died last night, aged 58.

Ex-Italian striker Protti dies at 58

His family confirmed the news in a statement published on his official Instagram page: “With immense sorrow, the family announces that Igor passed away during the night,” the statement reads.

In accordance with Protti’s wishes, the family also published a farewell message from the ex-striker: “This wonderful journey, like every match, has reached the final whistle. It is difficult to find words that can explain it, the only thing I can do is thank my great and wonderful family, whom I have loved dearly.

“I also want to thank all the people who cared for me and stood by my side, and all the supporters of the teams I played for, for the affection and love they always showed me, which I wholeheartedly returned. Hoping this is a see you again rather than a farewell.”

Protti revealed in July 2025 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, which, by September, had spread to his vertebrae. At the end of last month, he walked his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.

A former striker for Livorno, Messina, Bari, Napoli and Lazio, among others, Protti was, along with Dario Hubner, the only player to become the Capocannoniere in each of the top-three Italian leagues: Serie A, Serie B and Serie C.

To date, he’s also the only player to finish as the Serie A leading scorer while playing for a team that was relegated in the same season (Bari).

During his playing career, Protti scored 48 goals in 144 Serie A matches.

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Un post condiviso da Igor Protti (@igor10protti)

Declan Rice took a moment to speak about his friendship with Italy international Riccardo Calafiori after England’s 4-2 victory over Croatia at the 2026 World Cup and says that Italy is ‘an amazing country, I respect everyone there’. 

Declan Rice on love for Calafiori and Italy

The Arsenal midfielder started alongside Elliot Anderson and Jude Bellingham in the England midfield as Thomas Tuchel led the Three Lions to an encouraging 4-2 victory over a Croatia side featuring the likes of Luka Modric, Petar Sucic, Martin Baturina and Mario Pasalic.

During the post-match interviews, Rice took a moment to speak to the Italian media and discussed his friendship with Italy international Calafiori, who is not at the World Cup and is instead preparing to defend Arsenal’s Premier League title in 2026-27.  

“One of my best friends at Arsenal, Calafiori, he’s obviously Italian. I love that guy, one of my best friends in football,” the England midfielder said in a post-match interview with DAZN.

“It’s an amazing country, I’ve been there a few times myself so I respect everyone there.” 

The DAZN reporter asked Rice how he is coping with the sun in the United States, joking with the sunburned Englishman that he’s picked up a nice bit of colour. 

“I’ve got a nice colour now,” Rice insisted. “I’m not sunburned anymore. I was very burnt the first few days but now I’m good. I’m happy now”

Declan Rice ama l’Italia e Calafiori #FIFAWorldCup #DAZN pic.twitter.com/0nqVUNnrcz

— DAZN Italia (@DAZN_IT) June 18, 2026

Fabio Paratici refuses to rule out Moise Kean’s summer exit, but insists Fiorentina want to retain Cher Ndour and are interested in Luca Koleosho.

Paratici held a press conference at the Viola Park on Thursday to discuss the Tuscans’ plans for the summer transfer window.

“The ownership is very strong; it wants to build a competitive and lasting Fiorentina over the years. I want to emphasise these two words: competitive and lasting,” he said via LaViola.it.

“The ownership, I add, needs time. Things don’t happen in two weeks. It takes time to build lasting and competitive things.”

Paratici had met with Kean’s agent on Wednesday.

“We are in a transfer window. There are discussions with the footballers and their entourages. It’s a normal thing. I’m definitely not here to tell you the whole truth of what we say to each other with players and their entourage during this transfer window, to be honest,” Paratici said.

“As for Kean, he is absolutely a heritage of Italian football and Fiorentina. Everyone knows how fond I am of him; I watched him grow from when he was nine years old until the Champions League.

“I’ve also already sold him once under my management. I am as fond of him as I am of all the footballers I have had. But we are in a market period. We hope and want him to be our No.9. But all football clubs are not masters of their fate on the market, apart from the top five or six in the world.

“I believe it is a sincere and realistic response for our fans. First of all, because it takes respect, but also to educate people about what’s happening in the world of the market and football in general.”

Fiorentina parted ways with coach Paolo Vanoli a few weeks ago and hired Fabio Grosso.

“Grosso was the only candidate. We liked the profile and everything that follows,” Paratici said.

Fiorentina have not won a trophy in over 20 years.

“You always need a minimum correlation between dream and goal. They should be as closely related as possible,” noted Paratici.

“Yesterday my son, who plays football, told me his dream is to play in the World Cup. I told him that if his goal is to play in the World Cup, we risk getting disappointed. It’s best if we set a realistic goal and a dream that’s close to it. That’s not to say you don’t want to try to win. But the dream remains a dream and a goal becomes a goal.”

Fiorentina failed to qualify for European competitions in 2025-26, does Paratici fear the club has lost appeal?

“No, Fiorentina have not lost appeal. The clubs have not lost appeal. Liverpool didn’t win for 20 years, and all the footballers wanted to go there. Manchester United haven’t won in so many years, but ask any footballer if they don’t want to go play for them.

“The clubs are historic; they have their own historic relevance regardless of the sporting result. Then it’s clear that if you play the Champions League, you’re more attractive.”

U21 Italy international Ndour has been linked with Juventus, but Paratici is not considering selling him, contrary to Dodo.

“Ndour is at the heart of Fiorentina’s project, absolutely,” Paratici said.

“He’s just getting started; he needs to confirm himself. This is another point I would like to emphasise, not only for Fiorentina but for Italian football. We cannot beatify players after twelve matches. We can have a positive or negative impression. We don’t even have to crucify them.

“We need to find a balance. Ndour had a very good second half of the season. He’s growing. We expect him to improve even further next season.

“Dodo is 28 years old and has legitimate ambitions. Like Fiorentina have them. We’ll see what happens in the next few days or months.”

During an interview with Sky Sport Italia, Paratici also confirmed interest in Burnley-owned Koleosho: “Everyone likes good players. Koleosho is a good player, like others in the U21 team,” Paratici concluded.

Paratici took charge of Fiorentina in February 2026 so this is the first transfer window he’ll oversee at the Stadio Franchi.

Sky Sport Italia reports that Marco Palestra is closing in on a move to Inter after the latest meeting between the Serie A champions and Atalanta today.

Inter are close to reaching a full agreement with Atalanta for Palestra, according to Sky Sport Italia.

Latest meeting brings Palestra closer to Inter

The Italian broadcasters claim that a meeting between the two clubs took place on Thursday morning, helping the newly crowned Serie A champions move closer to Atalanta’s demands.

According to the report, the two parties hope to shake hands by the end of next week.

Currently, the two parties are discussing the bonus structure and a potential sell-on clause for Atalanta, so an agreement is not too far away.

Palestra has also attracted interest from the Premier League, especially Chelsea and Manchester City.

Sky Sport, however, already reported a few days ago that the promising Italian defender was willing to wait for Inter and Atalanta to reach an agreement, having prioritised a move to San Siro.

Inter have planned to make Palestra their replacement for Denzel Dumfries, who is set to move to Real Madrid in a €20m deal.

The latest episode of the Football Italia summer show is not live on YouTube. Giancarlo Rinaldi joined us to discuss the next Juventus moves, including the future of Andrea Cambiaso and the Bianconeri’s search for a new striker.

Both Chelsea and Barcelona have shown interest in Juventus defender Cambiaso, and according to Gazzetta, both sides are eager to discuss swap deals with the Bianconeri, who need to make a €20m capital gain by the end of the month.

Football Italia Summer Show, June 18: Juventus, Cambiaso, Kean and more

Chelsea have reportedly offered Nicolas Jackson as part of a swap deal, while Barcelona want to include Ronald Araujo in negotiations with the Bianconeri.

“From a selfish Italian national team point of view, I’d like to see him where he plays regularly and not another kind of Chiesa, making a big move and not playing any football at all,” Gincarlo Rinaldi said during the latest episode of our Summer Show on YouTube.

Juventus are also chasing a new centre forward and, aside from Jackson, the most concrete options on the table are Alexander Sorloth and Randal Kolo Muani. The latter already played for Juventus in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign, scoring ten goals in 22 appearances in Turin.

Giancarlo, however, feels that Sorloth would be the best option for the Old Lady.

Check out the full show below.

Italy missing the 2018 World Cup was hard enough to take. Missing 2022 after winning the Euros made no sense to many supporters. Now 2026 has gone as well, and there is only so long a country can keep calling this a shock.

The Azzurri will not be at the next World Cup, even with the tournament expanded to 48 teams. Europe has more places, too, so there was no hiding behind a narrow format this time. For a country with four World Cup titles, this is not one bad campaign. It is a serious football problem.

The last hit came in Zenica. Italy drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final, then lost the shoot-out 4-1. Moise Kean gave them the start they wanted, but Alessandro Bastoni’s red card before half-time changed the mood completely. Bosnia stayed alive, Haris Tabakovic levelled late, and Italy once again found a way to make a World Cup place slip away.

The group stage had already made things messy. Norway beat Italy 3-0 in Oslo in June 2025, and it was not a strange result from one lucky night. Alexander Sorloth scored early, Antonio Nusa added another, and Erling Haaland made it 3-0 before half-time. Italy had plenty of the ball, but Norway had the parts that mattered: speed, bite, and clear chances.

That result cost Luciano Spalletti his job and pushed the federation towards Gennaro Gattuso.

It is too easy to say Italy simply froze. They did, in moments, but this was not only a mental collapse. The team had gaps that never really went away. The defence still had strong names, including Donnarumma, Bastoni, and Calafiori when available, but it did not look as secure as old Italian teams. The midfield had quality through Barella, Tonali, and others, but it rarely carried matches with real force. Up front, Italy still looked like a side trying to decide who they were.

Kean, Retegui, Scamacca, Raspadori, Lucca, and the younger Pio Esposito all offer something different. None of them became the clear, cold, reliable striker Italy needed during the campaign. That matters in qualifying. Tight games often come down to one early chance, one ugly finish, or one forward who can bully a match into submission.

Italy have had plenty of good footballers. They have not had enough players on the national team to feel settled.

The Euro 2020 win now looks even stranger in the middle of this run. Italy were brave, sharp, and full of life under Roberto Mancini. They pressed well, moved the ball quickly, and won the final at Wembley against England. At the time, it felt like a rebuild had arrived early. Now it looks more like a peak that the system could not hold.

Since then, the national team has kept changing faces without changing the deeper story. Mancini left. Spalletti arrived. Gattuso arrived. Results improved in small patches, then collapsed when the pressure returned. Gabriele Gravina’s resignation after the latest failure only confirmed how deep the embarrassment had become.

There is also a club problem sitting under the national team. Serie A remains a strong league, and Italian clubs still produce tactical detail that many countries envy. But the pathway for Italian attackers and young players has not been clean enough. Too many prospects get minutes late, move often, or sit behind older and foreign players, which slows their development.

That is not a simple “too many foreigners” argument. The better question is why Italian clubs do not trust enough young Italian players early enough, especially in attacking positions. Spain, France, Germany, and England have found ways to throw young players into serious football sooner. Italy still talks about talent for years before fully using it.

The 2026 World Cup will still have plenty of Serie A interest. Argentina, Brazil, France, the United States, and others will bring players from Italian clubs. Italy will watch its league represented while its own national team stays home. That is a painful little detail.

There is also a betting angle around this World Cup, especially now Italy’s absence has changed the market for outright winners, top scorers, and group betting. For readers who still want to follow the tournament that way, OnlineBookies has a list of the best new betting sites that includes newer platforms with football markets and World Cup-specific offers.

For Italy, though, no market or outside story softens the truth. They have not scored a World Cup goal since Mario Balotelli against England in 2014. By the time 2030 arrives, a whole generation of supporters will have grown up without seeing Italy play at a World Cup.

That is almost impossible to process for a country that gave the game Paolo Rossi, Roberto Baggio, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, and Gianluigi Buffon. Italy are tied with Germany for the most World Cup wins, behind only Brazil. They are not supposed to be a side people discuss during qualifying post-mortems every four years.

The answer to what went wrong is not one red card, one coach, one penalty shoot-out, or one bad night in Bosnia. It is all of those things sitting on top of years of weak planning, striker uncertainty, unstable leadership, and a football culture that still does not quite know how to move from pride to repair.

Italy do not need another slogan about rebuilding. They have had enough of those. They need a clearer youth pathway, bolder squad choices, a stronger attacking identity, and a federation that stops treating failure as a shock.

The Azzurri can come back. Countries with that much football history usually do. But 2030 cannot be treated as another chance to hope. It has to be treated as the deadline for finally fixing what three missed World Cups have already made obvious.

Having failed to match Juventus’ asking price for Andrea Cambiaso, Chelsea have asked the Bianconeri to consider including Nicolas Jackson in a swap deal, according to Gazzetta.

Juventus defender Cambiaso is attracting interest from several European clubs, especially Barcelona and Chelsea, with the Bianconeri forced to sell one of their players by the end of June to make a capital gain and comply with FFP regulations.

Cambiaso transfer: latest updates as Chelsea explore swap deal

Gazzetta reported on Wednesday that Barcelona were eager to include Ronald Araujo in a player-plus cash swap deal, while, still according to Gazzetta, Chelsea are open to including Senegal international Jackson in negotiations with the Old Lady.

Cambiaso has a low amortised cost in Juventus’ balance sheet, so he’s practically the most sellable player in the team right now.

The Bianconeri value the Italy international at €40m, but Chelsea’s opening offer is only around € 27m- €28m, according to Gazzetta.

Therefore, the Blues have asked Juventus to consider the potential inclusion of Jackson in the deal, given that the Bianconeri are looking for a new centre-forward for next season.

Jackson has returned to Stamford Bridge after a one-season loan spell at Bayern Munich.

Juventus keep their eyes open for a new centre-forward and have also opened talks for Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid) and Randal Kolo Muani (PSG).

Sky Sport Italia reports that both Juventus and Napoli have shown interest in Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after Inter opted for Lazio’s Ivan Provedel instead.

Napoli and Juventus have set their sights on Tottenham keeper Vicario, according to Sky Sport Italia transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio.

Vicario transfer news: latest updates with interest from Serie A

Inter had chased the Italy international for several weeks in the past, but the Nerazzurri eventually decided to pick Provedel from Lazio and promote Josep Martinez to a starting role for 2026-27 following Yann Sommer’s exit as a free agent.

The Serie A interest in Vicario, however, remains very much alive, with both Juventus and Napoli tracking the ex-Empoli and Cagliari keeper.

Juventus have made Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez their primary target for a goalkeeper, but they have not yet reached an agreement with the Premier League club and would consider Vicario if he were less expensive than the Argentine.

Napoli, on the other hand, would only open formal talks for Vicario’s return to Serie A if one of their goalkeepers, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic or Alex Meret, were to leave this summer.

Paolo Maldini reacts to Lionel Messi’s hat-trick with a social media message: ‘No words needed, simply the best.’

Argentine legend Messi scored three goals in the Albiceleste’s 2026 World Cup debut against Algeria on Wednesday, leaving ex-Milan and Italy star Maldini impressed.

The legendary defender reacted to Messi’s latest World Cup display with an Instagram story: “No words needed, simply the best,” Maldini wrote, posting a picture of the Argentine superstar’s goal celebration.

Maldini participated in four World Cups, finishing 3rd in 1990 and second in 1994, when Italy lost the final on penalties to Brazil.

Maldini’s reaction to Messi’s hat-trick

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