Italy will miss the World Cup for the third time in a row after losing in the play-offs to Bosnia and Herzegovina

One of football’s historic powers has reached a once unfathomable low.

Four-time champions Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup after being defeated in a 10-man penalty shootout in 66th-placed Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday in the European play-offs.

Moise Kean scored early for Italy, but then Azzurri centre-back Alessandro Bastoni was sent off with a straight red card before half-time and Bosnian substitute Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th, sending the match into extra time d89LjskS.

The defeat added further misery to Italy’s once proud national team after they were knocked out by Sweden and North Macedonia respectively in the qualifying play-offs for the last two World Cups.

The latest ouster means that the champions of 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 will not play a single match at football’s biggest event for at least 16 years.

Italy’s World Cup problems go all the way back to 2010 and 2014, after failing to progress out of the group on both occasions. Although the Azzurri did win the European Championship in 2021.

Italy’s last knockout match at the World Cup was when they won the title in 2006 by beating France on penalties.

The only other World Cup that Italy did not qualify for was the 1958.

Published on April 1, 2026