Mar 31, 2026, 05:38 PM ET
Four-time champions Italy missed out on a third consecutive World Cup after losing to host Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout in its playoff final Tuesday in Zenica.
With the loss, Italy became the first former champions to miss out on three straight World Cups.
Moise Kean scored early for Italy but then Azzurri center back Alessandro Bastoni was sent off with a direct red card before the break and Bosnia substitute Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th minute.
The match then went to extra time with the score 1-1 and Italy down to 10 players, but neither team scored in the 30 added minutes. In the shootout, Italy missed two of its spot attempts and Bosnia was perfect in all four of its tries to win 4-1.
The defeat added more misery for Italy's once-proud national team after being eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in qualifying playoffs for the past two World Cups and last won a knockout round game in 2006 over France in the final.
In last week's European playoff semifinals, Italy beat Northern Ireland 2-0. Bosnia eliminated Wales in a penalty shootout.
In Tuesday's other European playoff finals, Sweden and Türkiye each qualified. Sweden beat Poland 3-2 and Türkiye beat Kosovo 1-0. Czechia also qualified after beating Denmark in a shootout to clinch its spot at the World Cup.
The latest ouster for Italy means that the 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 champions will go at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer's biggest event.
Italy's World Cup struggles date to 2010 and 2014, having failed to advance from its group on both occasions. Although the Azzurri won the European Championship in 2021.
The only other World Cup that Italy did not qualify for was in 1958.
Bosnia will play at a second World Cup following their debut in 2014, and will be in Group B at this summer's tournament with co-host Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.
