Tarik Muharemovic was in a magnanimous mood after Bosnia’s World Cup playoff victory over Italy, offering warm words for a country where he has built his club career while celebrating the realisation of a lifelong dream.

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The Sassuolo defender, who plays his club football in Serie A, spoke to Swiss Italian channel RSI in the immediate aftermath of the penalty shootout win, carefully navigating the emotional complexity of eliminating a nation he clearly holds in genuine affection.

“My dream was to play at the World Cup with Bosnia, the greatest dream of all of us,” he said, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb.

“All my respect to Italy, my friends and brothers.”

Bosnia star Muharemovic: ‘I’m very happy in Italy, I never lost respect’

He was also keen to clarify comments from a previous interview that had apparently been misinterpreted.

“I hope they did not take it badly, because I have many friends and brothers there. I am very happy in Italy. I have never lost respect, I know where I come from and that I am humble. Italy is always in my heart.”

On the match itself, Muharemovic acknowledged how difficult the Azzurri had made things despite playing with ten men for the majority of the contest following Bastoni’s red card.

“They tried everything, even with one fewer player, and it was not easy to hold on for 120 minutes. I am sorry for them.”

His pride in Bosnia’s achievement, however, was unmistakable.

“Bosnia is back and making itself known, this is only the beginning. We can show much more.”

With the World Cup now on the horizon, his message was simple. “We are ready. Now we celebrate, then we think about the World Cup.”

Luciano Moggi has launched a scathing attack on the state of Italian football in the wake of the Azzurri’s third consecutive World Cup elimination, calling for Gabriele Gravina to resign and demanding that Sports Minister Andrea Abodi intervene to force genuine structural change.

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The former Juventus and Napoli director, speaking on Radio Tutto Napoli, drew a direct line between Italy’s current crisis and the fallout from the Calciopoli scandal of 2006, arguing that Italian football has been in terminal decline ever since its last major triumph.

“Remember that the last great result was in 2006, when we won the World Cup with a strong leadership structure,” he said, via TuttoMercatoWeb.

“From that point, with the dawn of Calciopoli, Italian football was finished.”

Moggi: ‘Italy broken at the core: the fish rots from the head, Gravina must step aside’

On Gravina, Moggi was unsparing. “The national team is a mirror of the system, if we have been eliminated three times, it means something is fundamentally broken at the base. The fish rots from the head, and therefore Gabriele Gravina should step aside. He has been neither lucky nor up to the task.”

His prescription for recovery was equally blunt. “We need to start from zero, a total clean-out. Minister Abodi should intervene seriously. Enough talk: what is needed is a real revolution.”

The suggestion that political intervention may be the only way to force meaningful change at the FIGC reflects a growing mood in Italy that the federation is incapable of reforming itself from within.

Moggi also backed Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis in his calls for a restructuring of Serie A.

“De Laurentiis is right, a general overhaul is needed because things cannot continue like this,” he said. “Today we have reached the point of being afraid of teams like Bosnia. That says everything.”

Gianfranco Zola has called for a fundamental rethink of how Italian football develops its young players, insisting the country must address deep structural problems if it is to avoid repeating the pain of a third consecutive World Cup absence.

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The former Chelsea and Italy forward, speaking in his role as vice-president of Lega Pro ahead of the Serie C Coppa Italia final between Latina and Potenza, was visibly affected by Tuesday’s penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia, and used his platform to deliver a message that went well beyond the result itself.

“The failure to participate in the World Cup is something we feel deeply,” Zola told Rai Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb.

“Football here is very important, and what happened yesterday has hit me hard. We must take stock of the problem and work to address it, understanding that our young players are extremely important.”

Zola: ‘Italy must start again from the ground up’

Zola was clear that the solutions need to come from the bottom of the game upward rather than from any quick fix at international level.

“We must start from the ground up and think about recreating the conditions to give quality to our young players,” he said.

“There is a very important and far-reaching piece of work to be done.” He also highlighted the need for continuity in young players’ development, arguing that talented youngsters must be given consistent opportunities to compete rather than being sidelined at club level.

As Lega Pro vice-president, Zola has a direct stake in that process, and he was keen to emphasise that the third tier of Italian football has a meaningful role to play.

“We as Lega Pro continue to work to encourage clubs to invest more and more in growing our young players in the best possible way,” he said.

He concluded with a message aimed squarely at the next generation.

“Coaches and facilities are fundamental, but the players themselves will also need to work hard. Commitment, vocation and dedication are what it takes to become true sportspeople.”

Manuel Locatelli has become the latest Italy player to break his silence following the Azzurri’s agonising World Cup playoff elimination, posting an emotional and unflinching message on social media that accepted collective responsibility while vowing to never stop giving everything for the national team.

The Juventus captain’s statement arrives as a wave of public grief continues to wash over Italian football in the days since Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia in Zenica.

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Leonardo Spinazzola spoke in the immediate aftermath of the match, Gianluigi Donnarumma followed today, and now Locatelli has added his voice, each message reflecting a squad still struggling to process the enormity of a third consecutive failure to reach the World Cup.

Italy had gone into the match with genuine optimism following the victory over Northern Ireland, only for Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half red card to fundamentally alter the complexion of the contest.

A 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, no goals in extra time, and ultimate heartbreak in the shootout, a sequence that has left the entire country searching for answers.

Locatelli: ‘We failed, I’m devastated’

“I am devastated, drained, with tears in my eyes,” Locatelli wrote, before addressing the supporters who had backed the team throughout the campaign.

“We felt the responsibility towards the children, the families, the grandparents and all the Italians who supported us. We gave everything and I am proud of this group. We players, the manager and all the staff were united for this dream. We gave every last drop of energy, but we were not able to give you this World Cup.”

He did not shy away from the uncomfortable truth.

“We failed, that is the reality. And I feel the full weight of it.” Despite the pain, Locatelli struck a defiant closing note, mirroring Donnarumma’s call to move forward. “It is hard, incredibly hard, but let us get back up together. There will not be a single day when I do not give everything of myself on the pitch.”

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Former Italy goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has delivered one of the more colourful verdicts on Gabriele Gravina’s refusal to resign following Italy’s World Cup playoff elimination, suggesting the FIGC president should be doing far more than simply stepping down.

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“It seems impossible to me that the federation president has not resigned,” Viviano told Radio Firenzeviola, via LLSN. “If I were in his position, I would emigrate.”

Speaking on Radio Firenzeviola, the former Serie A stopper did not limit his criticism to those at the top of the federation.

Vivano slams Italy academies: ‘Nothing is built, nothing is taught’

Drawing on his experience as a father of children currently playing youth football, Viviano pointed to a fundamental failure at grassroots level as a root cause of Italy’s repeated international failures.

“We are one of the best countries in sport, alongside the Balkan nations we have an incredible variety of talent and we are naturally predisposed to succeed in sport,” he said.

“But in football academies nothing is being built and nothing is being taught. It all comes down to ‘today I won, today I lost’, and nothing more.”

It is a damning assessment that echoes the broader frustration being expressed across Italian football in the 24 hours since Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat in Zenica.

With Gravina yet to show any sign of stepping aside despite mounting pressure from politicians, former players and the public alike, the calls for fundamental change, both at the top and at the grassroots, show no sign of abating.

Franco Baresi has called for Italian football to conduct a collective examination of conscience following the Azzurri’s third consecutive World Cup elimination, while defending Gennaro Gattuso from the bulk of the criticism being directed his way.

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The Milan legend and former Italy captain spoke to Adnkronos in the aftermath of Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb, acknowledging that key incidents on the night had worked against the Azzurri while insisting the deeper problems extend far beyond a single match or manager.

Baresi: ‘Italian football must do a ‘mea culpa’, Gattuso not to blame’

“Yesterday there were episodes that conditioned the match negatively for our team,” Baresi said, a reference to Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half red card, which left Italy with ten men for the majority of the contest.

“But Italy cannot keep arriving at the last stage just to play for qualification. The whole of Italian football must do a mea culpa, because the results of the last twenty years are there for everyone to see, with the isolated exception of the European Championship triumph.”

Despite that broad indictment of the system, Baresi was notably protective of Gattuso.

“In these months he gave everything, his soul, and in my opinion he also did a good job with the little time he had available,” he said. “Unfortunately it was not enough. It is not for me to say whether he should continue, but he is certainly among the least responsible for this defeat.”

It is a sentiment that contrasts sharply with some of the more sweeping criticism aimed at the coaching staff since Wednesday night, and one that reflects a broader view that Italy’s problems are structural rather than the product of any individual failure.

Fabio Capello has delivered a scathing assessment of Italy’s third consecutive World Cup elimination, describing the defeat to Bosnia as a national disgrace and calling for the entire FIGC leadership to accept responsibility and step down.

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The former England, Milan and Real Madrid manager spoke to Spanish newspaper Marca in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday night’s penalty shootout defeat in Zenica, and made no attempt to soften his words.

“I could not sleep all night, I still cannot believe what happened,” he said, with quotes via LLSN. “We are talking about a four-time world champion. This is a sporting tragedy, a disgrace. It is one of the worst things to have happened to Italian football in its recent history.”

Capello questions lack of resignations after Italy disaster

Capello’s sharpest criticism, however, was reserved not for the players or the coaching staff but for those at the top of the game’s administration.

“Nobody is resigning here, and that is the most worrying thing,” he said. “The first person who should take responsibility is the president of the federation, along with the entire leadership.”

The 79-year-old was equally clear that the problem runs far deeper than a single bad result.

“This is not just about results, it is structural,” he said. “Italy needs to reinvent itself. We must bring together the experts, analyse what is happening and begin a reconstruction from the foundations. It will be very difficult to recover from this, but I trust it will serve as the beginning of a genuine renewal.”

With Gravina yet to signal any intention to resign despite growing pressure from all directions, Capello’s words add another prominent voice to what is becoming an overwhelming chorus of calls for change.

Claudio Lotito has taken the remarkable step of launching a petition in the Italian Senate calling for FIGC president Gabriele Gravina to resign, in the fallout from Italy’s devastating World Cup playoff final defeat to Bosnia on penalties.

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Lazio president and Forza Italia senator is using his political platform to pile pressure on Gravina, who has so far given no indication that he intends to step down despite overseeing a third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup.

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Italy drew 1-1 after 90 minutes in Zenica, with Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the first half leaving the Azzurri with ten men for the vast majority of the match. No goals in extra time saw the tie go to penalties, where Italy were ultimately eliminated.

Gravina days numbered as FIGC chief resists for now

The political pressure on Gravina is now considerable.

The Sports Minister has already publicly called on him to resign, and the FIGC president has convened an emergency meeting for tomorrow afternoon in Rome, bringing together representatives from Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, the amateur leagues, coaches’ and players’ associations, to assess the situation ahead of a full Federal Council meeting next week.

The mood outside FIGC headquarters has turned hostile, with protesters pelting the building with eggs following last night’s result.

Gravina, who was re-elected unopposed relatively recently despite the previous two World Cup absences, faces the biggest crisis of his tenure, and with Lotito now mobilising political opposition from within the Senate itself, the calls for his departure are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

It’s safe to say we were not entertained last night as Italy crashed out of their World Cup play-off final with a penalty shoot-out defeat to Bosnia.

In the aftermath, there has been no shortage of reaction: from ex-players and coaches, to current figures involved at the heart of Italian football, everyone has had their two cents to say after that dismal night in the Balkans.

The exit has send earthquakes throughout the world though, not just in Italy.

Lack of Strength & Honour sends Italy packing

Gladiator star Russell Crowe has had a long-standing connection with Italian football, ever since his appearance in the 2000 Best Picture winning film.

On several occasions, the New Zealand-born Australian actor has spoken about his love for the city of Rome and, specifically, Lazio.

Crowe has been pictured and filmed talking about his love for the club on numerous occasions, and today he spoke once again about the world of Calcio.

However, this time he dedicated a heartfelt message for Italy, writing: ‘A dark dawn for Italy, the day after failed qualification. Again. How is it possible with so much talent? I feel sick for the nation.

Un’alba buia per l’Italia. Il giorno dopo la mancata qualificazione. Di nuovo.

Com’è possibile con così tanto talento? Mi sento male per conto della nazione.

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) April 1, 2026