History made: Italy qualify for ICC T20 World Cup for the first time ever

In a historic moment, the Italy National Cricket Team have officially qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

It is the first time in the history of cricket that Italy have qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup, and overall it is the first-ever World Cup qualification for the country across ODI, T20I, Men's, Women's, and U19 cricket.

Jersey miss out as Italy qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026

On Friday, July 11, Italy faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the Netherlands National Cricket Team, by 9 wickets in the 10th and last match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier at the Voorburg Cricket Club, The Hague.

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Despite the colossal defeat, Italy managed to finish in the second position on the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier points table.

They started off their campaign with a stunning 7-wicket victory with 36 balls remaining against Guernsey, before their second match against Jersey was abandoned without a ball bowled. Then, on July 9, the Joe Burns-led side locked horns with Scotland and clinched a brilliant 12-run victory.

Although they faced a heavy defeat in their last game, the Italian side ended their campaign at the No.2 spot with two wins and one draw in four games.

Italy qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the expense of Jersey, who couldn't qualify despite having the same points because of the inferior net run rate of 0.306 as compared to the Italian side's net run rate of 0.612.

Meanwhile, Italy have become the 25th different team to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition of the competition in 2007.

The Joe Burns-led side has also become the fifth European country to qualify for the T20 World Cup after England, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, and Italy.

Also Read: Watch: Joe Root grabs one-handed blinder in Lord’s Test to break Rahul Dravid’s record for most Test catches

The Netherlands qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026

The Netherlands have also qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after finishing at the top of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier standings.

This will be their seventh appearance overall and sixth straight since 2014 in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Last year, three new teams - Uganda, Canada, and the United States of America- featured in the competition.

Talking about the Netherlands' campaign, they opened their account by registering a terrific 7-wicket victory over Jersey. In their second match, the Netherlands faced a disappointing 6-wicket loss at the hands of Scotland.

However, they bounced back to clinch a 73-run win over Guernsey and a 9-wicket victory over Italy to finish at the No.1 spot with three wins in four games and a Net Run Rate of 1.281.

List Of Teams Qualified For The ICC T20 World Cup 2026:

- India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, United States, West Indies, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Canada, Italy, Netherlands.

- 5 teams TBD

[Out of five teams, two will be decided from the Africa Qualifier, and three from the East-Asia Pacific Qualifier.]