Mamma Mia, here we go again! Italy out of the World Cup for the third straight time!

The famous ABBA song from the last century seems like a perfect explanation for Tuesday’s disaster. Italy somehow managed to miss the World Cup for the third straight time, which is a national catastrophe and the total defeat of Italian football. Four-time world champions participated the last time in 2014 and will have to wait for 2030 for the next World Cup. Gian Piero Ventura and Roberto Mancini led unsuccessful qualifying campaigns for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, and Gennaro Gattuso finished them off in 2026. In the World Cup Qualifications UEFA Playoffs final game, Italy was defeated in the penalty shootout after the regular game finished 1-1 and allowed the outsiders Bosnia and Hercegovina to participate in the biggest FIFA competition.

What went wrong? Everything. Italy has an average (at best) manager, as Gattuso as a coach is totally opposite from Gattuso as the player. The incompetent manager was appointed by the Italian federation (which is their biggest mistake) and totally mishandled the situation. Big players like Barella (Inter), Locatelli (Juventus) and Tonali (Newcastle) allowed to be bullied in midfield by Bosnian weak midfield, while most of Bosnian’s chances went through the air, even though Italian defense consisted of defenders like Calafiori (Arsenal), Gutti (Juventus) and Mancini (Roma). Barca’s wish Bastoni started the game but made a stupid tackle in the 41st minute and got a red card, forcing his teammates to play with 10 men for the rest of the game and in overtime. Moise Kean scored the only goal for the Italians, but then missed a sitter which could have finished the game off. Gattuso made a bad sub and introduced Esposito who missed two chances and the penalty. On top of that, the experienced referee Clement Turpin was inconsistent and influenced the game in favor of Bosnia. The home team was brave as they were underdogs and didn’t have anything to lose, while the Italians were scared of another World Cup failure and Gattuso was no motivator. They missed two penalties while Gigio Donnarumma also failed – he was partly guilty for Bastoni’s red card and failed to save a single penalty. The Bosnian squad worth 127 million is going to the World Cup, while the 833 million euros worth Italy will again be home.

Bosnian attacked from the go and Donnarumma had to make his first save after only seven minutes, due to Demirovic’s strong shot from the edge of the box. But then Italy took the lead in the 15th minute out of nowhere. Keeper Vasilj made a mistake with his clearance and gave the ball to Barella, who quickly passed it over to Kean, whose first-time right-footer smashed the net with power: 1-0 for Italy. Basic had a chance in the 20th minute but Donnarumma was on spot again. Bosnia had the initiative and in the 38th minute Bajraktarevic curled in a cross, but Demirovic headed the ball just wide. And then the Manchester City goalkeeper made a mistake as his short clearance reached Mamic, who ran onto the goal and Bastoni took him down as the last man and got a red card. Retegui was out in favor of defender Gatti but still, with such good center backs like Gutti, Manchini and Calafiori, the Bosnian players had a number of opportunities through the air.

Bosnian manager made changes at halftime and became even more attack-oriented. Still, the hosts had only one really good opportunity. In the 72nd minute, Tahirovic broke into the box and unleashed a dangerous low shot which would end in the net if it wasn’t for Donnarumma and his fantastic save. But seven minutes later there was no help for Italy. Dedic crossed from the right, Donnarumma saved Dzeko's close-range header, but Tabakovic was there to put the ball into the net from one meter after a rebound for an equalizer. Italy had two excellent chances in the second half but missed them both. Kean scored the only goal for Italy from a difficult situation but missed a sitter in the 60th minute, after being one on one with a Bosnian keeper. Terrible. Esposito replaced him but also missed a good opportunity after a few minutes. The game eventually went into overtime in which referee Turpan failed to give a red card to the Bosnian player. Palestra raced toward the goal, Muharemovic brought him down on the edge of the box, but this time the French referee showed a yellow instead of a red, which he did in case of Bastoni. Esposito missed another good opportunity in the 105th minute and referee Turpan refused to award a penalty after Muharemovic’s handball in the 107th minute. In the end, penalty shootout was needed and Italy totally bottled it, leaving Bosnia players and fans in total mayhem. Both Esposito and Cristante missed their penalties while the young Bosnian players looked like the most experienced footballers and all converted.

2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION (UEFA)

Final

Tuesday

B&H - Italy 4-1 on pen (1-1)

/Kean 15 - Tabakovic 79/

Czech Republic - Denmark 3-1 on pen (2-2)

/Sulc 3, Krejci 100 - Andersen 72, Hogh 111/

Kosovo* - Turkey 0-1 (0-0)

/Akturkoglu 53/

Sweden - Poland 3-2 (2-1)

/Elanga 19, Lagerbielke 44, Gyokeres 88 - Zalewski 33, Swiderski 55/

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2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION

Inter-confederation play-offs

Wednesday

Path 1

00.00: (1.95) DR Congo (3.10) Jamaica (4.70)

Path 2

06.00: (2.70) Iraq (3.00) Bolivia (2.90)

***odds are subject to change***