In a historic achievement, Italy men's cricket team has secured their place in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The Italian side qualified for their first-ever Cricket World Cup on Friday, July 11th. Despite a nine-wicket loss to the Netherlands in their final ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier 2025 match in The Hague, Italy's performance throughout the tournament allowed them to finish in the top two, guaranteeing their participation in the 2026 edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will be hosted by India.
Italy qualify for T20 World Cup 2026
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to be played across various venues in India and Sri Lanka during February and March of the following year. This will be a significant event for Italy, marking their debut in a major global cricket tournament. Notably, the 2024 edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, held in the West Indies and the USA, saw maiden appearances from Uganda, Canada, and the United States, with the Americans even progressing to the Super 8s stage.
The Italian team showcased a remarkable performance in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier 2025, including a stunning 12-run victory against Scotland on July 9th. They will be aiming to carry this momentum into the mega-event next year. Italy and the Netherlands securing their qualification on Friday resulted in disappointment for Jersey. Despite also finishing the Europe Qualifier with 5 points from four matches, the Jersey men's cricket team finished third due to a lower Net Run Rate compared to Italy.
Had Italy managed to defeat the Netherlands in their final qualifier match at Sportpark Westvliet in The Hague, Jersey would have secured the second qualifying spot. As it stands, a total of 15 teams have now qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026: India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, USA, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Netherlands, and Italy. The remaining five spots will be filled by two teams from the Africa Qualifier, scheduled for September 19 to October 4 in Zimbabwe, and three teams from the Asia–EAP Regional Final.