FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[shinratensei_]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.
He is not an aggressive person, he is a feisty person, there is a big difference in this even if it doesn't seem like it.
He is certainly a good coach and perhaps he arrived at the right time.

Gattuso's priciple will never change the fact if he's bad as a coach. His statistic said it all, and appointing him as a head coach is a boomerang for Italy. Weird to see a guy like him who has terrible stats get a high job as a head coach of Italy. I think Italy really want to miss WC 2026 & Euro 2028.

[Lida93]

During his career as a manager Gattuso never last long in the particular clubs even the latest is he was messed up in Marseille which caused this team not qualified to the champion league and now surprisingly football federation of Italy has been choose him as Italy manager which this move is very risky
As far as i know Italy not qualified to the world cup 2 times in a row 2018 and 2022 so Italy people are expect this time their country can playing again at the world cup and Italian fans has high expectation to Gatusso

Gattuso had a better playing career than he has right now as a coach and am not really expecting much from him, He didn't do much at Napoli, or Valencia or in Marseille. So, I really do not see any reason to justify his appointment as coach of the Italian national team boss, but it would be better if he is given the benefit of doubt to see if things might get better for him especially now that the team's chances of qualifying for the world cup is already in jeopardy as a result of Luciano Spalletti's flops during Italy's last encounter with Norway.

We can't judge the finality of his coaching career. As you said, give the benefit of the doubt here as he may have not shown his full potential yet as a coach. He was a very good athlete before so we may not be seeing his strategies in play right away as a coach. Give him time and see what he can do for the team. I understand, a lot of people are judgmental. It is still early to make a conclusion of his coaching career, right?

Well, as for me, am not being judgemental about him but am making emphasis base on his previous antecedents with his former managerial jobs as a coach, he didn't made anything much of a success to reckon with and raise hope on him to doing better with the Italian national team. But it's also possible he can make an improved changes or get worse with the team this time around. I just wish him to do better because he was a good player and as such should also reflect on his coaching career.

[imamusma]

~~

Gattuso's priciple will never change the fact if he's bad as a coach. His statistic said it all, and appointing him as a head coach is a boomerang for Italy. Weird to see a guy like him who has terrible stats get a high job as a head coach of Italy. I think Italy really want to miss WC 2026 & Euro 2028.

Gattuso is the last alternative choice, where FIGC has previously tried to get Claudio Ranieri and Pioli. Even FIGC was previously reported to be more interested in appointing De Rossi or Cannavaro as Spalleti successor, perhaps because of the demands of the situation, FIGC finally had to choose Gattuso. It must be admitted, Gattuso managerial reputation is quite bad, and it is very natural that many parties doubt his quality. With the Italian National Team seemingly running out of stock of the golden generation, expectations for Gattuso will clearly not be too high. Italy chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup are still open, and of course everything now depends on Gattuso's performance.

[Ale88]

~~

Gattuso's priciple will never change the fact if he's bad as a coach. His statistic said it all, and appointing him as a head coach is a boomerang for Italy. Weird to see a guy like him who has terrible stats get a high job as a head coach of Italy. I think Italy really want to miss WC 2026 & Euro 2028.

Gattuso is the last alternative choice, where FIGC has previously tried to get Claudio Ranieri and Pioli. Even FIGC was previously reported to be more interested in appointing De Rossi or Cannavaro as Spalleti successor, perhaps because of the demands of the situation, FIGC finally had to choose Gattuso. It must be admitted, Gattuso managerial reputation is quite bad, and it is very natural that many parties doubt his quality. With the Italian National Team seemingly running out of stock of the golden generation, expectations for Gattuso will clearly not be too high. Italy chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup are still open, and of course everything now depends on Gattuso's performance.

I kind of disagree with that part because at the end of the day the manager doesn't play, the players do. You can be the best manager in the world but if the players are mediocre probably you're going to fail. Italy could even hire Guardiola (hypothetically of course) but that wouldn't mean that we're going to the world cup. Do you remember Ancelotti with Napoli and Everton? Great coach, mediocre players, mediocre results.

[retreat]

I kind of disagree with that part because at the end of the day the manager doesn't play, the players do. You can be the best manager in the world but if the players are mediocre probably you're going to fail. Italy could even hire Guardiola (hypothetically of course) but that wouldn't mean that we're going to the world cup. Do you remember Ancelotti with Napoli and Everton? Great coach, mediocre players, mediocre results.

Currently the Italian national team is filled with mediocre players, there are no outstanding players, unlike their era in the 2000s. So it is very difficult to be able to revive the Italian national team now, even when it is the most experienced coach, because as you said the role of quality players is very important, and then we discuss the manager. Because now the problem of the Italian national team is very complex, so changing the coach alone will not be able to solve the problem, there needs to be a total overhaul from the roots of the Italian football system, and the process can take years.

[stompix]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

[babo]

I kind of disagree with that part because at the end of the day the manager doesn't play, the players do. You can be the best manager in the world but if the players are mediocre probably you're going to fail. Italy could even hire Guardiola (hypothetically of course) but that wouldn't mean that we're going to the world cup. Do you remember Ancelotti with Napoli and Everton? Great coach, mediocre players, mediocre results.

Currently the Italian national team is filled with mediocre players, there are no outstanding players, unlike their era in the 2000s. So it is very difficult to be able to revive the Italian national team now, even when it is the most experienced coach, because as you said the role of quality players is very important, and then we discuss the manager. Because now the problem of the Italian national team is very complex, so changing the coach alone will not be able to solve the problem, there needs to be a total overhaul from the roots of the Italian football system, and the process can take years.

yes it's all mediocre
from the team to the coach but also to the management, the real weak element is in the management not up to par
To start again, we need to reset everything, send everyone home and rebuild from scratch
in short, it's not like everything has been going wrong for 1 year, it's been 10 years... I have a question for myself 

[Lida93]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.
He is not an aggressive person, he is a feisty person, there is a big difference in this even if it doesn't seem like it.
He is certainly a good coach and perhaps he arrived at the right time.

Gattuso's priciple will never change the fact if he's bad as a coach. His statistic said it all, and appointing him as a head coach is a boomerang for Italy. Weird to see a guy like him who has terrible stats get a high job as a head coach of Italy. I think Italy really want to miss WC 2026 & Euro 2028.

The manner at which @shinratensei_ exalts the person of Gattuso you will wonder if he's ignorant of Gattuso's coaching record in his previous jobs or he's just trying to express hopes on him that he could do things differently with the Italian national team this time around.    perhaps, @shinratensei_ should go check Gattuso's record  as head coach at Marseille, Napoli, or Valencia. And tell us how good a coach he is ...

[masulum]

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

Let him be happy, he still can't distinguish Gattuso as a player and as a coach. His achievements as a coach, only the Coppa Italia with Napoli so far. The rest, as you mentioned 
Let's try to be realistic, Italy is currently lacking players who are have strong champion mentality after the era of Del Piero, Totti, Maldini, Materazzi, Buffon, even when Gattuso was a player. Italy's target is to qualify for the World Cup, but making Gattuso a coach is a very controversial decision, from very minimal achievements and tends to end in dismissal, this lack of players will make it more difficult for Gattuso to prove that he is capable of being a coach who can save Italy.

[bastisisca]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

He won the world championship, winning a world championship is no small thing.
He also faced very serious health problems, yet with all the health problems he achieved his goals, that is, he continues to train.
i am not saying he's a great coach, i said he has an iron will, that's very different.

[cande86]

Let him be happy, he still can't distinguish Gattuso as a player and as a coach. His achievements as a coach, only the Coppa Italia with Napoli so far. The rest, as you mentioned 
Let's try to be realistic, Italy is currently lacking players who are have strong champion mentality after the era of Del Piero, Totti, Maldini, Materazzi, Buffon, even when Gattuso was a player. Italy's target is to qualify for the World Cup, but making Gattuso a coach is a very controversial decision, from very minimal achievements and tends to end in dismissal, this lack of players will make it more difficult for Gattuso to prove that he is capable of being a coach who can save Italy.

I don't like him and i never liked him, he's a generous and heartfelt player but not very technical. i like players and therefore technical and tactical coaches, like Inzaghi, like Pirlo. In short, there were many choices, i don't understand the reason to take him.

[Volgastallion]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

I agree with this he started not bad but when you start to follow his path you start to realize he is only one more coach and he has nothing to give more than his character, and he is basically draining his fame as a player to get the spot.

I dont see him being a great coach at all, at least until now.

[Ale88]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

I'm not a Gattuso's fan (at least as a coach, I really respected him as a player) but, to be fair, he always went to teams that were dealing with extremely complicate situations, especially at management level. He's not afraid of being fired but he always was in the middle of a mess. Those teams kept changing coaches even before and after Gattuso.
Regarding the national team, as I already said I don't have any particular expectation, I simply hope that he can somehow wake the players up and make them understand that they are wearing the jersey of a national team that won four World Cups during its history. We need players who would die for the national team. Gattuso was one of those. We have several problems but the poor mentality is probably the main one right now.

[dezoel]

I kind of disagree with that part because at the end of the day the manager doesn't play, the players do. You can be the best manager in the world but if the players are mediocre probably you're going to fail. Italy could even hire Guardiola (hypothetically of course) but that wouldn't mean that we're going to the world cup. Do you remember Ancelotti with Napoli and Everton? Great coach, mediocre players, mediocre results.

Currently the Italian national team is filled with mediocre players, there are no outstanding players, unlike their era in the 2000s. So it is very difficult to be able to revive the Italian national team now, even when it is the most experienced coach, because as you said the role of quality players is very important, and then we discuss the manager. Because now the problem of the Italian national team is very complex, so changing the coach alone will not be able to solve the problem, there needs to be a total overhaul from the roots of the Italian football system, and the process can take years.

This is main problem with them quality and skills are going at their lowest level which is big drain for them and nothing positive is happening for the improvement of players skills here Italian soccer needs to work on before it brings no return way for them. Already lost their spot in world cup for last two times while third is also under trouble no big coach is ready to accept this challenge with current new coach is already had serious pressure few concerns are right because things are not positive with Italian soccer mediocre players have never been able to give good results while coach is world-class.

Even this is now long project, but they needed to started quickly and have some good session which increase players depth and also give them good opportunity which allow having some technique because without having any big step now they are not going to have better results.

[AmoreJaz]

This is main problem with them quality and skills are going at their lowest level which is big drain for them and nothing positive is happening for the improvement of players skills here Italian soccer needs to work on before it brings no return way for them. Already lost their spot in world cup for last two times while third is also under trouble no big coach is ready to accept this challenge with current new coach is already had serious pressure few concerns are right because things are not positive with Italian soccer mediocre players have never been able to give good results while coach is world-class.

Even this is now long project, but they needed to started quickly and have some good session which increase players depth and also give them good opportunity which allow having some technique because without having any big step now they are not going to have better results.

Maybe, they haven't found yet their coach that will be a game-changer for the team. Though we don't know when will it come for the team, I would say, the players should work on how to improve their performance inside the field. It may be their motivation as to how they can show their best foot forward while playing. Sometimes, it would take just one gesture from one of the athletes, and everyone will follow thru. An inspiration for the whole team can change their path to show their best. Maybe, they haven't found that one yet.

[Mate2237]

This is main problem with them quality and skills are going at their lowest level which is big drain for them and nothing positive is happening for the improvement of players skills here Italian soccer needs to work on before it brings no return way for them. Already lost their spot in world cup for last two times while third is also under trouble no big coach is ready to accept this challenge with current new coach is already had serious pressure few concerns are right because things are not positive with Italian soccer mediocre players have never been able to give good results while coach is world-class.

Even this is now long project, but they needed to started quickly and have some good session which increase players depth and also give them good opportunity which allow having some technique because without having any big step now they are not going to have better results.

Maybe, they haven't found yet their coach that will be a game-changer for the team. Though we don't know when will it come for the team, I would say, the players should work on how to improve their performance inside the field. It may be their motivation as to how they can show their best foot forward while playing. Sometimes, it would take just one gesture from one of the athletes, and everyone will follow thru. An inspiration for the whole team can change their path to show their best. Maybe, they haven't found that one yet.

I think that the Italian national team has good players who can compete at the top level with the big boys of world football because looking at the Italian seria A and even Seria B there are top quality Italian players who can compete at the highest level the main problem has been a quality tactical coach who can really bring out the best in the players.


Italia has not gotten it right when it comes to getting a good coach I don't believe that the Italian national team is in lack of players Italy should bring a coach that will have a clear cut out agenda for the national team because it's shameful not to see former world cup winners missing out on the world cup and even not doing well when it comes to the European championship

[aylabadia05]

Gattuso, known to us as Rino, is a very strong-willed person and very consistent in achieving his goals.

And what goals did he achieve?
Palermo - sacked!
Pisa - sacked!
Napoli - sacked!
Valencia - sacked!
Marseille - sacked!
Special mention that in one of his few tries, when he managed to stay for more than half a season without getting kicked out, was when he managed to cling to his seat at AC Milan, where he finished 6th and then 5th.
He hasn't achieved anything, and with how the Italian team looks right now, prepare for more disappointments!

He last managed Hajduk Split and his percentage during the 24/25 season with the Croatian team was also below the previous Hajduk Split coach Karoglan.

Who knows from all the failures of Gattuso as a coach in training several teams, with Italy it will be different, precisely maybe it will be able to have a positive impact on the Gli Azzurri in their efforts to enter the World Cup.
I say this out of any interest other than hoping Italy qualify. If they don't, I'll be one of those people who regrets it because Italy are a good team with a good history.

[ShowOff]

-

Maybe, they haven't found yet their coach that will be a game-changer for the team. Though we don't know when will it come for the team, I would say, the players should work on how to improve their performance inside the field. It may be their motivation as to how they can show their best foot forward while playing. Sometimes, it would take just one gesture from one of the athletes, and everyone will follow thru. An inspiration for the whole team can change their path to show their best. Maybe, they haven't found that one yet.

I think that the Italian national team has good players who can compete at the top level with the big boys of world football because looking at the Italian seria A and even Seria B there are top quality Italian players who can compete at the highest level the main problem has been a quality tactical coach who can really bring out the best in the players.


Italia has not gotten it right when it comes to getting a good coach I don't believe that the Italian national team is in lack of players Italy should bring a coach that will have a clear cut out agenda for the national team because it's shameful not to see former world cup winners missing out on the world cup and even not doing well when it comes to the European championship

If Italy fails to qualify for the 2026 World Cup again, it would be very embarrassing and add to their bad record so far. It is true that Italy has good players, but in the hands of the wrong manager their performance will never be certain, in my opinion Gatttuso is no better than Spalletti. Many people doubt Gattuso ability, and question the decision of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to appoint him as the new manager.

In the future, Gattuso must be smart enough when calling players to strengthen the Italian National Team, he must compile a squad with experienced players and young players. In terms of tactics, I still see Spalletti as much better, but sometimes in certain situations, a manager like Gattuso is needed to improve the mentality of the players.

[bastisisca]

I'm not a Gattuso's fan (at least as a coach, I really respected him as a player) but, to be fair, he always went to teams that were dealing with extremely complicate situations, especially at management level. He's not afraid of being fired but he always was in the middle of a mess. Those teams kept changing coaches even before and after Gattuso.
Regarding the national team, as I already said I don't have any particular expectation, I simply hope that he can somehow wake the players up and make them understand that they are wearing the jersey of a national team that won four World Cups during its history. We need players who would die for the national team. Gattuso was one of those. We have several problems but the poor mentality is probably the main one right now.

I am not a fan of Rino Gattuso either, i repeat and i repeat. At least he was the only one with enough courage and balls to accept a difficult and impossible mission. This is why i say that as a man with his iron will that allowed him to achieve results, he could do it. It does not depend only on him, there is little time.

[armanda90]

If Italy fails to qualify for the 2026 World Cup again, it would be very embarrassing and add to their bad record so far. It is true that Italy has good players, but in the hands of the wrong manager their performance will never be certain, in my opinion Gatttuso is no better than Spalletti. Many people doubt Gattuso ability, and question the decision of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to appoint him as the new manager.

In the future, Gattuso must be smart enough when calling players to strengthen the Italian National Team, he must compile a squad with experienced players and young players. In terms of tactics, I still see Spalletti as much better, but sometimes in certain situations, a manager like Gattuso is needed to improve the mentality of the players.

Upcoming two World Cup Qualifier matches, Italy will face easily national team by facing Israel and Estonia looks not difficult for new manager Gattuso getting six points of two matches. Firstly, Gattuso start well at his match debut after success winning the match against Moldova after Italy team started bad at the opening qualifying match beating by Norway. The qualifier World Cup have many matches left and Italy still on the favorite team will qualify to next round in Group I indeed Norway leaded the top standings awhile.

Talking about many fans doubtful with appointing Gattuso as manager by Italian Football Federation (FIGC) I don't think wrong, he lack experience as top club manager but winning the first match should make public believe him for upcoming match and bring back Italy qualify to World Cup. Just reminder Italy national team not qualify to World Cup two time edition in a row from World Cup 2018 Russia and World Cup 2022 Qatar.