Two leading candidates to replace Spalletti as Italy national team head coach

Italy already have two firm candidates lined up following the confirmation of Luciano Spalletti’s departure from his position as head coach of the national team, including Milan Scudetto winner Stefano Pioli and new Roma advisor Claudio Ranieri. 

Spalletti confirmed on Sunday that he will be stepping down from his position as head coach of the Italy national team immediately after the World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Monday night. 

The news comes two days on from the humiliating 3-0 loss away against Norway, which has already complicated Italy’s chances of qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup. 

Spalletti will remain in charge for the Moldova match on Monday and will then negotiate the terms of his exit immediately after, having claimed that he will resign during his recent press conference on Sunday. 

Click here to read everything Spalletti had to say in his latest Italy press conference. 

Pioli and Ranieri options to replace Spalletti 

According to reports from various outlets in the immediate aftermath of Spalletti’s announcement, including Sky Sport Italia, Stefano Pioli and Claudio Ranieri are the two leading candidates to take over as head coach of the Italy national team. 

Pioli, who is expected to be coming to the end of his time in charge of Al-Nassr, is seen as the more viable option according to Sunday’s updates. 

Ranieri, who led Roma as interim head coach and has since moved into an advisory role following the permanent appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini at the Stadio Olimpico, is FIGC President Gabriele Gravina’s favourite to take over the Italy job, according to Sky. 

A return for former CT Roberto Mancini is seen as a complicated deal to pull off given the fractured relationships at the time of his departure in 2023. 

Meanwhile, Sky suggests that there are a number of former Italy internationals also under consideration as altre soluzioni options, including Daniele De Rossi, Fabio Cannavaro and Gennaro Gattuso.