Italy miss out on World Cup for third straight time

Italy's agonising World Cup exile continues after they fell to a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their playoff final on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw.
Four-time champions Italy had lost out at the playoff stage to miss the last two World Cups, and their last qualification in 2014 coincided with Bosnia's only previous ‌appearance. Since lifting the trophy in 2006, Italy have won one game at the finals.

Bosnia will play in Group B at the World Cup, joining co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland, while Italy will be left with some serious soul-searching to do after yet another failure.
Bosnia had suffered plenty of playoff heartbreak themselves, missing out on the 2010 World Cup and the last four European Championships, but they came from behind on Tuesday and their keeper did not need to make a save when the shootout came around.

"These boys have a character and we knew they will make us proud," Bosnia manager Sergej Barbarez told reporters.
"These young players have this feeling, they don't think at all, they go to the pitch with brutal ⁠calmness."
Italy got off to the perfect start, with Moise Kean putting them ahead in the 15th minute, but had Alessandro Bastoni sent off three minutes before the break to raise the hopes of the home side.

Bosnia levelled 11 minutes from time through Haris Tabakovic and both Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missed their penalties while the hosts made no mistake from the spot to repeat their semi-final shootout win over Wales.
Kerim Alajbegovic came off the bench to net the winning penalty against Wales, and the 18-year-old again showed nerves of steel, converting one of Bosnia's spot kicks against Italy.

"I am so proud that we fought fiercely till the end," he said.
"I knew that I'd score the penalty regardless of who the goalkeeper is. Thanks everybody for being at the stadium, the atmosphere was brutal, we are going now to celebrate."
World Cup qualification was once a mere formality for Italy -- their only previous absence before this barren spell came in 1958 -- but they are now the only tournament winners to miss out on three successive finals.

'The World Cup curse’

"The World Cup curse," said the front page of Italy's main daily Corriere della Sera, calling for a rebuilding of a movement that produced some of the game's greatest players but has won just one match at the finals since lifting the trophy in 2006.

Headlines on La ⁠Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, the country's two main sports newspapers, both said "We're all staying at home," in reference to yet another summer without a World Cup for the four-time champions.
Fans in Rome were left stunned after Italy fell to a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Bosnia on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw, the third playoff defeat in a row after those against Sweden and North Macedonia.

"Everything went badly from the start of the match. The team wasn't good, ‌players ⁠out of form coming in and playing (anyway)… it makes no sense. Honestly, I'm shocked," said Davide Caldaretta, who watched the game at a city pub.
The 'Azzurri', as the team is known, last qualified for the World Cup finals in 2014, which coincided with Bosnia's only previous appearance at ⁠the tournament. The Balkan team will now play in Group B joining co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

"Either something is wrong with the youth system or it doesn't make sense," said ⁠fan Edoardo Settembre.
Italy went down to 10 men in the 42nd minute with Alessandro Bastoni punished for a late last-man tackle, a key turning point with Italy ⁠leading at the time.
"(We feel) really upset and disappointed. Even when you're let down you always hold out hope. And this is the third time in a row," said Melanie Cardillo.