2026 World Cup: Germany Lashes Out at Italy: “It’s Unbelievable How They Ended Up”

The 2026 World Cup is heating up: the 32 teams that advanced from the group stage will face off in the coming weeks in a long series of knockout rounds leading up to the final, scheduled for July 19 in New Jersey. All the most historic and successful national teams are there… except for Italy. The Azzurri didn’t even set foot in North America, after being eliminated by Bosnia in the playoffs for the third time in a row.

Two former German stars, Per Mertesacker and Christoph Kramer, briefly commented on the Azzurri’s situation in an interview with ZDF: “Is it a shame that Italy isn’t in the running? No, they don’t deserve to be talked about,” Mertesacker said bluntly.

“How that team has changed! Twenty years ago, when we lost in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup, it was a world-class team. Twenty years later, you have to look long and hard to find a single exceptional player. It’s incredible what’s happened,” said Mertesacker, who was on the field in 2006 during the historic semifinal against Italy, which Lippi’s team won 2-0.

Kramer echoed his sentiments: “I’m a big fan of Italy. I also have many Italian friends and am always happy when I’m here. They had a golden era; they won the European Championship, something people tend to forget. But there are so many kids who don’t know that Italy can play in the World Cup.”