Italy’s repechage to the World Cup, Uefa changes everything and comes to the Azzurri’s aid

While rumors regarding a possible repechage of Italy to the 2026 World Cup do not appear to have subsided, Uefa has made official the new qualification system for the 2030 World Cup, scheduled for Spain, Morocco and Portugal (before the 2032 European Championships). For Italy, fresh off three consecutive qualification misses, the path to the rainbow review appears at least theoretically more favorable, with the goal of breaking a 16-year absence. The reform is designed to better protect the best-placed national teams in the rankings, reducing the risk that a single misstep will jeopardize the entire journey.

Final details will depend on the total number of teams participating in the 2030 World Cup (there is also talk of a possible expanded edition to 60 or 64 national teams), but the structure announced by Uefa envisages groups composed of two teams from each of the six brackets of the Fifa ranking. The top four teams in each group will gain direct access to the final stage.

The teams placed fifth, along with the best sixth, will instead have to go through playoffs, where they will face selections from the B League of the minor nations.

Based on the current ranking, very different scenarios are envisaged for the Azzurri. In the worst case, Italy could end up in a particularly competitive group with France, Germany, Norway, Serbia, Poland and Iceland. In the best case scenario, however, it would find Belgium, Denmark, Wales, Greece, North Macedonia and Kosovo on its way.