Rome, July 9 -- Italy's FIFA World Cup-winning legend Gianluigi Buffon reflected on the country's last FIFA World Cup win 20 years on this day, saying that the milestone will be celebrated with "gratitude but with a touch of bitterness", given the national men's side's failure to qualify for three FIFA World Cups on a trot.

On this day in 2006, Italy overcame France 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time. The win marked Italy's fourth World Cup win.

However, in the next two editions, Italy fared badly, registering group stage exits in 2010 and 2014. In the 2010 edition hosted by South Africa, heading as defending champions, Italy failed to win even a single match.

Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions. A ...