By Bonface Mulyungi
Italy’s World Cup drought continues after a grueling 120 minutes ended in a stalemate, Bosnia and Herzegovina eliminated the Italians in a penalty shootout, ensuring Italy will miss the tournament yet again.
This extends the Azzurri‘s absence in the big stage. Gennaro Gattuso’s men took an early lead thanks to Moise Kean, but Alessandro Bastoni left them down to 10 men and it eventually proved costly.
Haris Tabakovic forced extra time with an equalizer in the second half, and eventually, penalties sealed Italy’s fate. For the third time in a row, the Italians will watch the World Cup from home.
Having already missed the 2018 and 2022 events, Italy are now the first World Cup-winning country to miss three consecutive editions of the tournament.
This heartbreaking result only increases the crisis of one of the most storied nations in soccer history, as we’re talking about a team that won four World Cups — only one less than Brazil, who hold the record for most triumphs.
With Bosnia and Herzegovina taking down Italy for a 2026 World Cup berth, Group B is set and so is its schedule. Bosnia and Herzegovina will make their debut against co-host Canada on June 12 at 3:00 PM ET at BMO Field in Toronto.
Six days later, they will travel to the West Coast to play Switzerland at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Kickoff for that game on June 18 is also set at 3:00 PM ET.
The group stage finale will see Bosnia and Herzegovina taking on Qatar at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 24 at 3:00 PM ET.
