🥐 Shame in Barcelona, drama in Italy... 5️⃣ stories to start Wednesday | OneFootball

The international football landscape gives us a day of contrasts to kick off Wednesday.

While the Spanish National Team continues fine-tuning pieces in a renewal process that has not been free of controversy, European football is experiencing a real earthquake with the confirmation of another historic absence from the next World Cup.

Spain: A bittersweet draw under the shadow of racism

Joan García's debut between the posts was overshadowed by a dull goalless draw against Egypt. Luis de la Fuente's "revolution" lacked fluency, but the most serious incident took place in the stands of the RCDE Stadium. Racist chants directed at the Egyptian players turned a night of sporting experimentation into a day of national shame that tarnishes the image of our football.

The Italian drama: A third consecutive World Cup without the 'Azzurra'

The tragedy was sealed for Italy. The four-time world champions were eliminated by Bosnia in a nerve-racking penalty shootout (4-1) after a 1-1 draw. With this result, Italy have now gone 12 years without taking part in a World Cup, an unprecedented collapse that calls for deep restructuring in Italian football.

Final playoff: The 2026 World Cup now knows its 48 participants

With Bosnia's ticket secured, the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada filled its final spots. Turkey, Sweden and the Czech Republic sealed qualification in Europe, while the epic story came from other continents: the DR Congo and Iraq made history by claiming their places through the intercontinental route, completing the lineup for the biggest tournament in history.

Japan stun Wembley and Argentina enjoy themselves at La Bombonera

In the friendly matches, the surprise came in London, where Japan beat England (0-1), showing that they can now go toe to toe with the big powers. Meanwhile, Messi's Argentina crushed Zambia with an emphatic 5-0 win, while Brazil asserted their authority against Croatia with a solid 1-3 victory on American soil.

Women's Champions League: The first tickets to the semis up for grabs

Women's football takes center stage today with the second legs of the Champions League quarter-finals. Bayern Munich and Arsenal start as favorites after their first-leg wins. An electric atmosphere is expected in the stadiums to decide who will take the first two spots in the lead-up to the grand final.

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

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