Italy will appoint Gennaro Gattuso as the new national team coach. He will succeed the recently fired Luciano Spalletti. The news was confirmed by Gianluigi Buffon, head of delegation with the Italian Football Federation.

"We have been working, now we are waiting for the final details. The president and the entire federation have been very busy in recent days, but I think in the end we have made the best possible decision", Buffon told RAI when asked if Gattuso would take charge of the team during the European Under-21 Championship.

Spaletti was fired after less than two years in charge. His last match was a 2:0 home win over Moldova in a World Cup qualifier. The specialist himself announced in a press conference which was cut prematurely that he was ending his commitments as national team coach after a heavy 0:3 loss to Norway at the start of the qualifiers.

Gattuso has 73 caps for Italy, winning the 2006 World Cup as a footballer. He was most recently in charge of Croatian side Hajduk Split, leaving the club by mutual consent after finishing third last season.

The 47-year-old Gattuso is tasked with qualifying Italy for the 2026 World Cup. The Azzurri missed the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022, respectively. | BGNES