Italy will miss out on a third straight World Cup after falling to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuesday’s breathless qualification play-off final, the Azzurri blowing their chance to reach this summer’s tournament in North America with a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat.
Esmir Bajraktarevic shot the winning spot-kick in Zenica where the Bosnians booked a place in Group B and matches against co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar and plunged Italy into a new nightmare.
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Four-time world champions, Italy took the lead through Moise Kean in the 15th minute but then folded under the weight of expectation in Zenica after having to play more than half the match with 10 men.
Italy were already firmly on the back foot when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for chopping down Amar Memic four minutes before half-time, and Haris Tabakovic poked home Bosnia’s deserved leveller in the 79th minute to take the match to extra time.
And Italy’s World Cup horror show continued in the subsequent shoot-out, with Pio Esposito smashing their first penalty over the bar, and when Bryan Cristante hit the bar and Bajraktarevic squeezed his effort under Gianluigi Donnarumma, the game was up.
‘Their worst nightmares have come true. The unthinkable has happened,” a commentator said.
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“I don’t think the boys deserved to suffer such a blow, for the performance, the effort and the heart that they showed tonight… I’m proud of the boys,” said Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso.
“It’s difficult to digest.” Gattuso added that talking about his future “wasn’t important” but there will be reflection from the football federation as Italy are the first World Cup winners to miss out on three consecutive editions of the tournament, which this year will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
It was also a third straight elimination in the play-offs after Sweden in 2018 and North Macedonia four years ago.
Bosnia meanwhile reached their second World Cup finals, and first since 2014, in front of a passionate crowd which invaded the pitch after a historic victory.
Some Italy players were filmed celebrating when Bosnia won their semi-final — again on penalties — against Wales, behaviour which looked even more foolish after the way Bosnia tore into their opponents.
– Sorry Italy –
Italy looked nervy in the opening exchanges but were given a helping hand in opening the scoring by Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, who under pressure from Mateo Retegui passed the ball straight to Nicolo Barella.
The Inter Milan midfielder offloaded to Kean who confidently curled home his eighth goal in six international appearances from the edge of the penalty area.
Bosnia reacted well to going behind, continuing to harry Italy and force mistakes on a bobbly pitch, and Ermedin Demirovic glanced a header inches wide in the 38th minute.
And the already rowdy home fans smelled blood when Bastoni was given his marching orders for his horrendous challenge, the Inter defender arriving late on Memic and giving referee Clement Turpin no choice but to show him a straight red card.
A man down and with a slender lead to protect, Gattuso brought on Juventus centre-back Federico Gatti for Retegui and set his team up to soak up the waves of Bosnia pressure which came after the break.
Donnarumma had to be alert to punch away Kerim Alajbegovic’s powerful drive in the 52nd minute, but Kean wasted a golden chance to double Italy’s lead on the hour mark when he pounced on Memic’s sloppy pass and charged towards goal only to smash his shot over the bar.
Donnarumma was called upon again in the 73rd minute, the Manchester City ‘keeper brilliantly tipping Benjamin Tahirovic’s low shot around the post.
And after Esposito and Dimarco failed to make the most of presentable shooting opportunities, substitute Tabakovic sparked wild celebrations after Edin Dzeko’s header was clawed off the line by Donnarumma.
Another superb Donnarumma save from Demirovic’s header kept Italy level and extra time was equally tense, with the Italians furious that Tarik Muharemovic was not sent off for taking out Marco Palestra as the Cagliari defender burst towards goal.
They were also up in arms when a handball shout went unheard inside their penalty area.
But that won’t be much of an excuse after another sorry effort to reach the World Cup ended in dismal fashion in the shoot-out.
Gattuso asked to stay on
“I’ve asked him to stay and asked (Gianluigi) Buffon to stay in charge of the football side,” Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), told reporters.
Buffon has a role within the FIGC which involves overseeing the senior and youth national teams, and he said he would wait until the end of the current season in June before making a decision on his future.
Asked whether he would accept Gravina’s invitation to stay, Gattuso repeated what he said to Italian broadcaster RAI by saying it “wasn’t important”.
“It’s really painful. I would have given anything today, I would have given up years of my life, money, for us to achieve our goal,” said Gattuso.
A World Cup winner as a player in 2006, Gattuso was hired in June last year to replace the sacked Luciano Spalletti, with a contract which expires after the World Cup.
Gravina also said he would not step down, but his presence as the head of the FIGC would be discussed at a board meeting next week.
“We know that we’re in a profound crisis, a crisis that requires serious reflection and not only by the FIGC but also from politicians who have only pushed for resignations,” he said.
Turkiye set up WC clash with Socceroos | 01:15
SOCCEROOS’ FIRST OPPONENT CONFIRMED
Turkey qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday after Kerem Akturkoglu’s goal secured a 1-0 win away to Kosovo in their European playoff final, shattering their hosts’ dream of appearing at the tournament for the first time.
Akturkoglu diverted Orkun Kokcu’s shot into the net in the 53rd minute in Pristina for the only goal of the game, ensuring Turkey will go to their first World Cup since reaching the semi-finals in 2002.
Their players, including captain Hakan Calhanoglu of Inter Milan, Real Madrid’s Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz of Juventus, waved giant Turkish flags as they went across to celebrate at full-time in front of the travelling support.
Vincenzo Montella’s team will go into Group D at the World Cup, along with co-hosts the United States, Paraguay and Australia. They will begin their campaign against Australia in Vancouver on June 13.
Turkey shaded a close-fought game low on goalmouth action and secured victory early in the second half as a Yildiz cutback from the left was met by Kokcu before Fenerbahce striker Akturkoglu made sure.
Montella’s side are ranked 22nd in the world and reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2024, but this will only be Turkey’s third ever appearance at the World Cup — they went to the 1954 tournament before coming third 24 years ago in South Korea and Japan.
They finished second in European qualifying Group E behind Spain, holding the Spanish to a draw away from home, before beating Romania 1-0 at home in their playoff semi-final last week.
Kosovo, ranked 78th, were targeting a first ever World Cup appearance, having only been accepted as FIFA members a decade ago.
They had finished second behind Switzerland in qualifying Group B, notably beating Sweden home and away, before coming from behind twice to defeat Slovakia 4-3 away in the semi-finals.
ARSENAL STAR’S HEROICS SEALS SWEDES’ PLACE
Viktor Gyokeres sent Sweden to the 2026 World Cup as he netted a dramatic late winner to hand his country a 3-2 win over Poland in their European playoff final on Tuesday.
With the match locked at two-apiece the Arsenal striker forced the ball over the line after a frantic goalmouth scramble with just two minutes remaining to qualify Sweden for the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
They join the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in Group F.
Earlier, Anthony Elanga and Gustaf Lagerbielke had twice given Sweden the lead before Nicola Zalewski and Karol Swiderski hit back for Poland.
After missing out on the last edition in 2022, it is a return to football’s global showpiece tournament for Graham Potter’s side after eight years away.
After a disastrous qualifying campaign, Sweden qualified for the play-offs thanks to topping Group C1 in the Nations League.
For Poland, it was the first time they have failed to reach a World Cup finals since 2014.
The Swedes began in slightly nervous fashion in front of the fans in Stockholm as the Poles controlled the early tempo.
– Party in Stockholm –
The breakthrough then came in spectacular fashion in the 20th minute as Yasi Ayari backheeled into the path of the onrushing Elanga who thrashed the ball home left-footed via the crossbar.
The visitors nearly levelled five minutes later as Swiderski’s swivelling volley from inside the box forced a fine one-handed save from Kristoffer Nordfeldt low down to his left.
Jakub Kaminski then worked the Swedish goalkeeper from the resulting corner with a tame effort from the edge of the box as Poland started to turn the screw.
Polish pressure told on 33 minutes as Nordfeldt failed to deal with Zalewski’s curling effort after the 24-year-old had picked the ball up in space and cut in from the left.
Sweden were on the ropes since taking the lead with Poland targeting, in particular, their right flank.
The next goal was to come from that side of the pitch, however, it was in favour of the embattled hosts as Zalewski chopped down Elanga near the right touchline to concede a free-kick in a dangerous position.
Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren whipped in a teasing inswinger with his left foot and centre-half Lagerbielke ghosted in at the near post to nod past a stranded Kamil Grabara one minute before the interval. It was just Sweden’s second shot of the half.
Poland’s leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski cut an frustrated figure on his 165th cap, and the Barcelona forward blazed over early in the second period when he might have been better flighting a cross in the box.
But his grimace soon changed to a relieved smile in the 55th minute when Zalewski snuck onto a Matty Cash cross at the back post and his miscued attempt to control the ball fell perfectly for Swiderski to tap home the leveller.
Both Potter and his Polish counterpart Jan Urban shuffled their packs midway through the second half in a bid to find the decisive goal that would seal their side’s spot in the World Cup.
Just as a further 30 minutes seemed inevitable, the otherwise-quiet Gyokeres popped up to bundle across the line from close range at the end of a sequence of play which included a Grabara save from Lucas Bergvall and a Besfort Zeneli shot which came back off a post.
Poland piled forward desperately but were unable to find a third leveller on the night as the referee signalled the end of the encounter and the start of the party in Stockholm.
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SOCCEROOS’ RIVALS FROM LAST WORLD CUP MISS OUT
Michal Sadilek’s penalty sent the Czech Republic to the World Cup as they beat Denmark in a shootout in Prague on Tuesday following a 2-2 draw after extra time.
The Czechs will play their first World Cup since 2006, facing Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A of the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.
Tomas Chory and Tomas Soucek also scored for the Czechs in their second shootout in six days, while skipper Ladislav Krejci was denied by Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
For the visitors, Christian Eriksen was the only shootout scorer while Rasmus Hojlund hit the crossbar, Anders Dreyer failed to beat goalkeeper Matej Kovar and Mathias Jensen fired over the crossbar.
“I’m speechless. Hats off to everyone, I’m incredibly happy,” Krejci told Czech state television.
“Let’s be honest, we were not the better team but we showed more heart and we fought harder,” added the Wolverhampton defender.
“I had teary eyes, just a bit. I’m terribly happy and I want to thank the players,” Czech coach Miroslav Koubek told reporters.
“We suffered today. We played the best we could,” added the 74-year-old former goalkeeper.
On the chilly night in Prague, Pavel Sulc opened the score for the Czechs with a fine volley into the top corner three minutes into the game after the Danish defence had cleared a corner in his direction.
Denmark levelled in the 72nd minute when Mikkel Damsgaard’s free kick found Joachim Andersen in the box ready with a glancing header.
Krejci put the hosts ahead again in the 100th minute as he picked up a ball knocked down by Soucek in a goalmouth scramble following Vladimir Coufal’s cross.
His shot was deflected into the net by Danish defender Alexander Bah. But Denmark levelled again in the 111th minute when substitute Kasper Hogh headed home Eriksen’s corner six minutes after coming onto the pitch.
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– ‘Outstanding success’ –
In the play-off semi-finals on March 26, the Czechs beat Ireland on penalties while Denmark breezed past North Macedonia 4-0.
But they had a hard time beating the Czech defence as the hosts parked the bus after the quick opening goal, defending with 10 men.
Rasmus Hojlund had his low shot cleared by Kovar who also forced Gustav Isaksen’s curling free kick over the crossbar.
The hosts were a threat on the break but Lukas Provod tipped the ball past Hermansen and his right post.
Denmark kept pushing and missing or finding Kovar’s arms throughout the game, while the hosts often resorted to blindly clearing the ball.
Denmark will sit out their first World Cup since 2014, while the Czech Republic will record only the second appearance since it split with Slovakia to emerge as an independent country in 1993.
At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Czech Republic relied on the likes of Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky, Karel Poborsky and Jan Koller and bowed out after the group stage.
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The 2026 World Cup berth is a rather unexpected triumph for the Czechs who struggled through the qualification, swapping coaches just before the play-offs amid mounting criticism from fans and pundits.
Long-time skipper Soucek lost the captain’s armband before the play-offs after a fumbled attempt to console fans particularly upset by a 2-1 qualifying defeat on the Faroe Islands last October.
“The faith that we can do it kept growing every day, every hour,” the veteran coach Koubek said.
“This is teamwork and an outstanding success and I’m really sincerely happy.”
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