Claudio Ranieri, your country needs you! Italy fans call for legendary ex-Leicester boss to save country from World Cup failure

In an outpouring of support on social media, supporters of the Italy national team have flooded social media platforms with memes and messages calling for the legendary former Leicester City and Roma manager to take charge and steer the national team away from the brink of World Cup qualification failure.

Italy played their first game of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Norway on Friday, losing the game 3-0 in what was a dominant display from Stale Solbakken's men. In the aftermath of the loss, fans took to social media to post memes, calling for the appointment of Ranieri despite the fact he announced his second retirement from coaching in May.

According to Football Italia, one popular image showed a weary-looking Ben Affleck, his face filled with frustration, symbolizing Ranieri’s reaction to receiving a call from Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Another meme featured the iconic coach sporting a white beard, humorously declaring, "One more year, then I’ll stop." However, perhaps the most striking visual was a meme depicting Ranieri’s face illuminated in the night sky, much like the Bat-Signal, urging the return of Italy’s footballing superhero to rescue the Azzurri from World Cup disaster.

After retiring last summer, Ranieri returned to the Roma dugout for what would be his third stint at the club in November 2024. With the Giallorossi struggling in the lower half of the table, the legendary Italian took them on an incredible 19-game unbeaten run in Serie A since the turn of the year, which ended following their 2-1 loss to Atalanta in May. Ranieri brought them to the brink of Champions League qualification, and in the 36 games he managed, Roma won 22 games, drawing seven and losing as many.

The Azzurri will be hoping to return to winning ways in their next game. Luciano Spalletti's men will next face Moldova on Monday, June 9, before facing Estonia and Israel in the next international break in September.