Italy Miss Out Again: Azzurri Eliminated from World Cup Qualifiers for Third Straight Time

On April 1, in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers playoff final, Bosnia and Herzegovina faced Italy.

In the first half, Barella provided an assist and Kean found the net to give Italy the lead. Shortly after, Bastoni was sent off with a straight red card.

In the closing stages of the second half, Tabaković equalized with a header.

During the penalty shootout, the young player Pio and Cristante both missed their penalties.

In the end, Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Italy 5-2 on penalties to secure qualification for the World Cup.

Italy last appeared in the FIFA World Cup finals back in 2014, where they finished third in Group D and were eliminated.

Since then, Italy have failed to qualify directly from the European qualifiers on two occasions. In the 2018 qualifiers, they were beaten by Sweden in the playoffs, and in the 2022 qualifiers, they were knocked out by North Macedonia in the playoffs.

In the current World Cup European qualifying campaign, Italy collected 18 points from 6 wins and 2 losses in Group I to reach the playoffs. They defeated Northern Ireland 2-0 at home in the semi-finals, but ultimately lost in the final and were eliminated once again. This marks the first time in their history that Italy have failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups.