2026 World Cup: Serie A Sets Another Negative Record
The 2026 World Cup final has left Italian soccer with a statistic that is anything but impressive: not a single player from Serie A took the field in the most important match of the four-year cycle. This complete absence is unprecedented since the borders of our league were reopened in the summer of 1980.
The only “Italian” player called up, Lautaro Martinez, despite scoring the decisive goal in the semifinal against England, remained on the bench for all 120 minutes plus stoppage time of the final between Spain and Argentina. Nico Gonzalez, who is officially registered with Juventus, did, however, participate in the World Cup after spending the season on loan at Atlético Madrid; for this reason, his presence does not count toward Serie A’s representation in the statistics.
This marks a historic gap when compared to the previous eleven editions, in which Serie A had always fielded at least one star in the final—even when Italy was not a direct contender, as was the case in 1982, 1994, and 2006. Over the years, our league has lit up the finals with absolute champions: from Maradona, Rummenigge, and Briegel at the 1986 World Cup to Inter’s German trio (Matthäus, Klinsmann, and Brehme) at Italia ’90, and including Zidane, Thuram, Cafu, and “The Phenomenon” Ronaldo in the 1998 tournament.
In 2002, Ronaldo himself was instrumental in Brazil’s World Cup victory, a team that also included Milan players Cafu and Roque Junior, while in 2010, Wesley Sneijder came close to winning the World Cup after securing the Treble with Inter. In 2014, Klose, Biglia, and Higuaín took the field at the Maracanã; four years later, Matuidi, Brozović, Perišić, Mandžukić, and Strinić were on the field for the final in Moscow between France and Croatia. There were also “Italians” in 2022: Di María among the winners, and Theo Hernández, Rabiot, and Giroud among the losers.
In addition to the players, Serie A had also provided prestigious referees: Collina in 2002 and Rizzoli in 2014, both of whom officiated their respective finals. The year 2026 thus marks a turning point: no representative from our league on the field during the most iconic night in world soccer. This statistic captures a historic moment for Serie A, which is playing an increasingly less central role on the international stage and is forced to grapple with other figures that no Italian fan is proud to see in the record books.
