Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Italy 4–1 in a penalty shootout to reach the final after the match was tied 1–1 after extra time.
Published on 31 March 2026
Four-time champions Italy will miss the World Cup finals for the third consecutive time after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in their European qualifying playoff for the 2026 edition.
With the match level at 1–1 after extra time, Bosnia and Herzegovina conceded a spot kick 4–1 as the Italians, reduced to ten-men in the first half of normal time, crumbled under pressure.
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Italy took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to a brilliant first-time finish from Moises Keane, who headed into the goal from the edge of the box.
However, the Italians were reduced to ten-men when Alessandro Bastoni saw red for a professional foul, denying the home team a clear goalscoring opportunity.
After sustained pressure, Tabakovic found his way into the equalizer by pouncing on a loose ball in the box following a corner.
Italy missed the first and third kicks of the shootout, while the home support went wild as their team took the required four kicks.
Italy are the first former winners to fail to qualify for three consecutive World Cup finals, their last win in the tournament being in 2006 when current manager Gennaro Gattuso was part of the national team.
