Only a few notable Italian managers have been able to lead foreign teams to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti has officially led Brazil in the last two games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Despite Selecao’s average form with one draw and one win only, the former Real Madrid boss has brought them to secure one place in next year’s North American World Cup.
Ancelotti is set to be one of the Italian managers with foreign teams in the FIFA World Cup final. Throughout history, there have not been many of them.
It has been a while since the last Italian boss guided a nation but his own to the big stage of international football.
Interestingly, the overall record of Italian managers who take charge of other teams but Gli Azzurri is rather disappointing. None of them has been able to bring their teams further than the round of 16.
Will Don Carlo be able to break such a negative record and probably even end Canarinha’s title drought in the World Cup? Only time will tell.
Here are the Italian managers who led foreign sides to the FIFA World Cup.
Alfredo Foni (Switzerland)
Former defender Alfredo Foni was the first Italian manager who succeeded in guiding a foreign team to the FIFA World Cup final round.
Foni did it with Switzerland to qualify in 1966. He took charge of La Nati in 1964 and managed to lead them to the global stage after eliminating the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
The latter side was the team which defeated Italy in the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier when he was at the helm of the team. Such a loss cost them their failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
Unfortunately, Switzerland’s campaign in England 1966 was disappointing.
Being seeded with Spain, Argentina and West Germany at the group stage, they were hapless in all three fixtures. La Nati suffered three losses. Kobi Kuhn and Co only managed to score one goal but conceded nine goals in total.
Prior to being at the helm of Switzerland, the ex-Juventus man had spells in Venezia, when he started off his managerial career, Sampdoria, Inter Milan and AS Roma.
It was in the last two clubs where he lifted trophies. Foni won two Serie A titles with Nerrazurri in 1953 and 1954 and clinched the Inter Fairs Cup in 1961 with Giallorossi. It was the predecessor of the UEFA Cup.
Alberto Zaccheroni (Japan)
Alberto Zaccheroni was known for his unusual 3-4-3 formation back in the late 1990s and 2000s, which eventually led him to move to the elite sides.
His name came to prominence while leading Udinese in the mid-1990s.
Zaccheroni was able to guide the underrated side from Udine to finish third in the 1997/98 campaign with his two famous key men up front, Brazilian Marcio Amoroso and the former German international who excelled at scoring with headers, Oliver Bierhoff.
The former UEA boss won his first and only title at club level with AC Milan in 1999 when he won Serie A.
His next spells with Lazio, Inter Milan, Torino and Juventus did not leave any notable mark nor deliver any silverware.
He eventually opted to move to Asia after a series of failure with the big clubs.
Zaccheroni was one of the few Italian managers with an Asian team who gained success, as he delivered the Asian Cup title in 2011 and guided them to seal one berth the earliest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Unlike Marcelo Lippi’s spell or Roberto Mancini’s stint with the China and Saudi Arabia national teams, which ended badly, Zaccheroni was quite well-received in Japan.
Sadly, Keisuke Honda and Co.’s campaign in Brazil 2014 was disappointing.
They stumbled in a 2-1 defeat versus Ivory Coast despite their one-goal lead in the opener and shared spoils in a stalemate against Greece.
His side was even hammered 4-1 by Colombia in the last game of the group stage, which led to his resignation.
Fabio Capello (England & Russia)
Fabio Capello was undoubtedly one of the best Italian managers in Europe, but never had a chance to take the reins of the Italy national team.
Despite his success with almost every club he led, from AC Milan, Real Madrid, AS Roma and Juventus, he was not able to transfer or even replicate his remarkable spells in international football.
Capello had two chances to shine in the FIFA World Cup, in 2010 and 2014.
The first opportunity came in the late 2000s as he was appointed by the FA to take charge of the Three Lions.
The former midfielder had the so-called England’s golden generation at his disposal. Yet, he did not manage to guide them to the next stage.
Despite their superb campaign in the qualifiers, England struggled to even progress from the group stage at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Steven Gerrard and Co. only managed to pick up two points in the first two games versus the USA and Algeria.
Capello’s side was only able to snatch a 1-0 win over Slovenia in the last fixture of the preliminary round to secure one spot in the Round of 16 as the runner-up!
England’s concerning form resulted in their heavy 4-1 loss to Germany at the knockout stage.
The Italian boss eventually left England only a few months before EURO 2012 despite having completed the qualifying round well. John Terry’s captaincy removal issue by the FA was reportedly the main reason behind his resignation.
His next chance was with Russia. Capello once again guided Igor Akinfeev and Co. to secure a place in the World Cup final round as a group leader despite being seeded with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Yet, their performance in Brazil was contrary to their result in the qualifiers.
Being grouped with Belgium, South Korea and Algeria, Capello’s side was winless, with two draws against the Taeguk Warriors and the North African side and beaten 1-0 by Belgium. They headed to exit earlier than expected.
Such a failure seemed to leave more stain on his incredible career on the sidelines. He was no longer one of the Italian managers who guaranteed success as he used to be.
Capello was dismissed following a series of poor results in the Euro 2016 qualifying round. He even reportedly ‘pushed’ for himself to be let go after his eight months of unpaid wages in Russia were revealed.
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Cesare Maldini (Paraguay)
Compared to the previous figures, Cesare Maldini had a relatively brief spell. Prior to Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival in Brazil, he became one of the very few early Italian managers who opted to lead a nation outside Europe.
The former Gli Azzurri boss was in charge of Paraguay ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup final round.
He was appointed in January 2002, when his team was already qualified for Japan–Korea 2002.
At first, he wasn’t warmly welcomed, especially by the local gaffers, as they felt they had been overlooked in favour of not-so-successful foreign managers.
Cesare Maldini’s ultra-defensive tactics were harshly criticised too from his days of being at the helm of the Italy national team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
However, the former AC Milan, Parma and Foggia boss did receive some support from the senior players in the squad, including the legendary goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert.
Cesare helped them progress to the Round of 16 and narrowly missed the chance to advance to the quarterfinal following a late goal from Oliver Neuville versus Germany in Japan-Korea 2002.
Overall, the ex-defender during his playing years was only at the helm of the team in seven games. He eventually resigned not long after the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Paraguay was his last team as a manager.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Xinhua
Recording Date: 14.06.2015