Italy and the Netherlands have booked their place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The mega event will take place in India and Sri Lanka next year.
Both teams qualified after a dramatic final day in the Europe Qualifiers. All four teams had a chance before the last two matches. In the end, Italy and the Netherlands made it through.
This is a historic moment for Italy. It will be their first-ever appearance in a Men’s T20 World Cup.
In their final match, Italy scored 134/7 in 20 overs. They lost wickets at regular intervals. Roelof van der Merwe bowled brilliantly for the Netherlands. He took 3 wickets for just 15 runs. Kyle Klein also kept things tight.
Benjamin Manenti played a steady knock for Italy. Later, Grant Stewart added some quick runs to push the score past 130.
Itay Fights Hard and Qualifies for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 alongside Netherlands
To qualify, Italy needed to stop the Netherlands from chasing the total before 15 overs. Dutch openers Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd gave their team a flying start. But Italy fought hard and stretched the game till the 17th over.
Although the Netherlands won the match, Italy qualified thanks to a better net run rate.
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Jersey, despite beating Scotland for the first time, missed out on qualification. It was a proud moment for Jersey, but not enough to secure a World Cup spot.
So far, 15 teams have qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The final spots will be filled by three teams from the Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualifiers, and two more from the Africa qualifier.
Italy’s journey has been inspiring. They showed great spirit and teamwork. Now, both Italy and the Netherlands will prepare to face the world’s best teams in India and Sri Lanka next year. It promises to be an exciting tournament, with more teams getting a chance on the global stage.
