Down to 10 men, Italy lose to Bosnia on penalties, miss out on World Cup | OneFootball

The drama continues: Italy is out of the World Cup for the third straight edition. This Tuesday, down to 10 men, the Italians lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, 4-1, after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, and failed to secure a spot in the playoff, extending their World Cup drought to 12 years. The match took place at Bilino Polje Stadium, the home of the Bosnians.

With the bitter penalty shootout defeat, Italy missed out on a World Cup for the third consecutive time. The Italians had also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Azzurri’s last World Cup appearance was in 2014, in Brazil, 12 years ago.

On the other side, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured qualification and booked their place in World Cup Group B, chasing a spot in the knockout stage alongside Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar.

Sweden, Turkey and the Czech Republic also qualify

Besides Bosnia and Herzegovina, three other national teams also secured their places at the World Cup through the European playoffs. Sweden made the most of home advantage and beat Poland 3-2, and will now enter World Cup Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.

Denmark was the team eliminated in the playoff and failed to qualify after losing to the Czech Republic 3-1 on penalties, following a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes. The Czechs go into Group A and join Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.

Finally, Turkey is back at the 2026 World Cup after beating Kosovo 1-0 away from home this Tuesday and returning to the tournament after 24 years. The Turks will make up Group D, battling for one of the two places with the United States, Paraguay and Australia.

📋 Match summary?🟢⚪🔴 ITALY 1 (1) x (4) 1 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 🔵🟡

🏆 Competition: European World Cup playoff 🏟️ Venue: Bilino Polje Stadium, in Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 📅 Date: March 31, 2026 (Tuesday) ⏰ Kickoff: 3:45 p.m. (Brasília time) 🟥 Red card: Bastoni, 41' of the 1st half (Italy)

GOALS

How the match unfolded

Bosnia started the match threatening Italy. In the second minute, Italy’s defense got tangled up and nearly scored an own goal. Then in the sixth minute, Demirovic drove to the edge of the box and hit a powerful shot, but Donnarumma made a comfortable save.

It was Italy, however, that opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Bosnia goalkeeper Vasilj made a mistake while playing out from the back and handed the ball straight to Barella, who passed to Moise Kean. The Italian calmly placed his shot and scored his national team’s first goal. Bosnia nearly equalized in the 19th minute, with a shot from Basic saved by Donnarumma.

In the 34th minute, Bosnia had another chance to level the match. Memic was played through and tried a header inside the box, but sent it over the bar. In the 41st minute, Italy went down to 10 men. Bastoni stopped Memic, who was through one-on-one with Donnarumma, with a tackle from behind. The referee judged it to be a clear goalscoring opportunity and sent the Italian off.

Second half

Five minutes into the second half, Bosnia nearly equalized. Alajbegovic received the ball on the left, cut inside and shot from the edge of the box, but Donnarumma saved it.

In the 14th minute, Italy had the chance of the game to score a second. Moise Kean burst forward and went one-on-one with goalkeeper Vasilj, but after entering the box, he fired over the crossbar.

In the 27th minute, Bosnia came close to equalizing again. Tahirovic appeared inside the box and struck a powerful angled shot, but Donnarumma stretched fully to reach it, tipping it out for a corner and saving Italy.

In the 33rd minute, Bosnia finally made it 1-1. Dedic broke down the right and crossed to the far post. Dzeko glanced a header, Donnarumma managed to save it, but Tabakovic pounced on the rebound and smashed it into the net.

Extra time

Deep into first-half stoppage time of extra time, Italy nearly scored a second. After a cross from the right, Esposito rose at the far post and got his header on target, but Vasilj made a great save.

Penalties

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Tahirovic: ✅ Tabakovic: ✅ Alajbegovic: ✅ Bajraktarevic: ✅

ITALY Esposito: ❌ Tonali: ✅ Cristante: ❌

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.