Gianluigi Donnarumma has confessed that he cried after missing out on another World Cup - but underlined his determination to "bring Italy back where it deserves to be". The Manchester City goalkeeper was part of another Azzurri side who failed to make the sport's biggest tournament.

They were beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night after a penalty shootout. The Italians lost 4-1 with Donnarumma unable to stop a single spot kick. Italy had taken the lead early on before they went down to 10 men, with Bosnia equalising in the second-half before securing a second penalty shootout victory in less than a week.

It means the Italians, who won the tournament in 2006, have missed out on the last three World Cups. Donnarumma remains one of their leading lights but, despite making his Italy debut at 16, he will now not play in a World Cup until he is at least 31.

The City goalkeeper wrote on Instagram: "Last night, after the match, I cried. I cried because of the disappointment of not being able to bring Italy where it deserves to be. I cried because of the enormous sadness I'm feeling, along with the entire Azzurri team, of which I'm proud to be captain, and I know, right now, you, fans of our national team, are feeling too.

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"Words are of little use now, it's true. But I feel one thing strongly inside, and I want to share it with you: after such a huge disappointment, we must find the courage to turn the page, once again. And to do so requires a lot of strength, passion, and conviction. Always believe; this is the driving force behind moving forward. Because life knows how to reward those who give their all, without holding back. And this is where we must start again. Together. Once again. To bring Italy back where it deserves to be."

Italy are four-time winners of the World Cup - a total only surpassed by Brazil. However, they've failed to even compete on the global stage for several years.

Sandwiched in between their World Cup failures was a European triumph. Donnarumma was named the Player of the Tournament as Italy claimed glory at Euro 2020, beating England in the final on penalties.

They've failed to reach those heights since with Luciano Spalletti and Gennaro Gattuso unable to enjoy similar success. The head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina told reporters he had asked Gattuso to stay, but he claimed that "was not important" after their qualification failure.

He said: "It hurts, because we needed it for us, for all of Italy and for our movement. A blow that's difficult to digest. I would have given up years of my life, money, for us to achieve our goal."

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