Andrea Pirlo has called Italy's failure to qualify for a third-straight World Cup a "disaster," as the knockout stages continue in the tournament's biggest-ever 48-team edition across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Italy, four-time World Cup winners, missed out in March after being eliminated by Bosnia-Herzegovina. This summer marks 20 years since Italy last won the tournament, beating France 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra time in the 2006 final in Berlin. Pirlo started that final, played the full 120 minutes, scored the opening penalty and was named man of the match.
"Sadly, it's a really hard time for the Italian national team. We've missed the World Cup three times in a row now. It's quite a disaster," Pirlo told Daily Mail Sport in an exclusive interview. "It's not easy for us but it's what we deserve as it's what we've become to be. So, I think we have to prepare for the future, prepare to qualify for the Euros [Euro 2028] and then hopefully into the next World Cup."
Pirlo's World Cup favourites
Pirlo, 116 times capped for Italy, named France, Spain and Portugal as the tournament's main favourites. "I think France, Spain, and Portugal are the main favourites. Then there could be some surprises, but I think France has the most possibilities. But football is a strange game, so you never know," he said.
There have already been shocks. South Korea and Uruguay failed to escape the group stages, Germany and the Netherlands were knocked out in the last 32 on penalties, and Brazil lost in the last 16 to Norway. Portugal also failed to win their group, setting up a last-16 meeting with Spain on Monday night at 8pm BST.
That fixture could pit two players Pirlo sees as modern versions of himself against each other. "I like Vitinha [Portugal] and Pedri [Spain] - they are technical players that try to make their team play a good game," he said, also praising Netherlands midfielder Frenkie De Jong.
Of Pirlo's three favourites, only France's squad features players who have previously won the World Cup, though many of Spain's players won Euro 2024 and Portugal are the reigning UEFA Nations League champions. Didier Deschamps' France won the 2018 World Cup in Russia and lost the 2022 final to Argentina. Captain Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Lucas Hernandez and N'Golo Kante remain from the 2018 squad, with Mbappe and Dembele first-choice starters this time.
England were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals at the last World Cup in Qatar. Asked what it takes to win the tournament, Pirlo pointed to his own experience in 2006: "There are a lot of components. You, of course, need good players who are healthy physically and also mentally. You also need a bit of luck because you may get easier matches during the World Cup. And of course, you need a really good group cohesion because you have to be together for at least a month and you need to have a good group that can play together to win. It's not easy but it helps to increase your chances."
Ederson's Manchester United move
The World Cup has given Manchester United fans their first glimpse of new signing Ederson, who joined for £39million from Atalanta on a four-year contract. The midfielder made only two brief substitute appearances for Brazil after being called up as a late injury replacement.
Pirlo believes the 26-year-old will succeed at Old Trafford. "I think he is a player good for the Premier League, he is dynamic runner and intense. I think he is a player that can adapt really well there," he said.
Praise for champions Arsenal
Pirlo also reflected on Arsenal's Premier League title win, which ended a 22-year wait for the trophy in May, despite the Gunners losing the Champions League final on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain. "I think they really deserved it. They played a pretty-dominant game all season, but they were playing at a high level even in previous seasons too. With the Champions League, they just needed time to get to the final [having lost in the semi-final stages in 2024-25]. They deserved to get to the final and I think they have the level to win it in future," he said.
He singled out several players. "They have a lot of good players. Saka is one of them, Odegaard is another and Rice is also a really important player. However, the centre backs [William Saliba and Gabriel] are the ones playing football at a world level and they make a difference."
Life as Dubai United manager
Pirlo, 47, spoke to Daily Mail Sport on Zoom from Dubai, where he manages Dubai United. His first season in charge ended with promotion to the UAE's top-flight Pro League, something he said he was "really happy about."
Asked whether he would want to manage former club AC Milan, who sacked Massimiliano Allegri, his coach at both Milan and Juventus, after failing to qualify for the Champions League, before hiring former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, Pirlo said: "I think AC Milan has other objectives now. They need to really start afresh because they cannot be not playing the Champions League. They need to really think about how to renew the squad and start a new cycle, start afresh."
Pirlo revealed he has turned down previous opportunities to manage in England but still hopes to do so one day. "It's everyone's dream to coach in the Premier League. I have received opportunities to coach in the Premier League in the past but I decided otherwise. But of course, I think everyone wants and dreams about playing or coaching in the Premier League because it's one of the best championships in the world."
Del Piero, Totti and his all-time XI
Asked who was the better player between Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti, his Italy 2006 teammates, Pirlo refused to choose. "They are two really good players, one more in attack, another more in midfield, but they could play really well together. So, I don't want to choose! There is no one or other. I choose both. They're both really good."
On naming his all-time World Cup XI, Pirlo said: "It's really hard to find 11 players, because there has been a lot of greats in the last few years. It is really difficult to choose only an XI, but I'm sure that I'm one of those in that XI."