Vieri: Italy out of World Cup ‘worse than getting dumped by a girlfriend’ | OneFootball

Italy legend Christian Vieri is confident the Azzurri will qualify for the 2026 World Cup after two consecutive failed attempts: ‘It was worse than getting dumped by a girlfriend.’

Former Serie A and Italy star Vieri spoke to the Italian Football Podcast about the state of Italian football, starting with the struggles to find a consistent goalscorer, something very rare when Bobo was a footballer.

“I have no idea (what has happened). When I was in the national team, we had me, Inzaghi, Del Piero, Baggio, Montella, Totti, Casiraghi, Zola, Vialli, Ravanelli, Mancini, we had a lot of number nines and number 10s,” he said.

“I was speaking with Pippo Inzaghi last week. And he said to me, ‘Bobo, for 35 years, we had the best strikers in the world and now we are having a big drought”

But Kean & Retegui are “very good strikers”

REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – JUNE 9: Mateo Retegui of Italy during the FIFA 2026 Qualifier between Italy and Moldova at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on June 09, 2025 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean have been the best scorers in Serie A in 204-25, and Vieri spoke very highly of the pair.

“But we do have Kean and Retegui. They are two very good strikers,” said the ex-striker.

“If they play together, they are very dangerous. Kean is a phenomenal striker, a phenomenal centre forward. Retegui, in the box, is very good. He is a killer. So with these two players, we don’t have so much of a problem as the last 10 to 15 years.

Italy MUST make the 2026 FIFA World Cup “my heart broken, missing two”

DAEJEON – JUNE 18: (From left to right) Mark Iuliano, Christian Vieri and captain Paolo Maldini of Italy complain to referee Byron Moreno of Ecuador during the FIFA World Cup Finals 2002 Second Round match between South Korea and Italy played at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium, in Daejeon, South Korea on June 18, 2002. South Korea won the match 2-1 with a Golden Goal in extra-time. DIGITAL IMAGE. (Photo by Ben Radford/Getty Images)

Italy haven’t started their World Cup qualification journey on the right path, having lost 3-0 away at Norway. Coach Luciano Spalletti was sacked after the game, but still took charge of his final match against Moldova, securing a 2-0 win.

Vieri is confident that Italy will still qualify for the World Cup, despite their issues and the fact that they are still without a coach.

“Yes, I told my wife last week: ‘We are going for one month to America to go see the World Cup.’ She said: ‘We are seeing Italy or the other teams?’ and I replied: ‘We are watching Azzurri.’

“During the World Cup, when I walk around and I see a yellow shirt, I know it is Brazil,” Vieri continued.

“When I see the white shirt, I know it is Germany. When I see the blue shirt, I know it is Italy.

“Italy always has to be in the World Cup. Always. Good team, bad team, whatever. We have to participate in the World Cup. We have to. We are a nation born to win the World Cups.

“Not qualifying twice already, my heart is broken. It’s worse than getting dumped by a girlfriend.”

Vieri scored 142 in 264 Serie A matches, adding 23 goals in 49 international matches with the Azzurri.