Italy national team absent for the third consecutive World Cup

The Italian national team is once again absent from the biggest football festival on the planet. In the play-off final, Azzurri had a favorable start with an early opening goal by Moise Kean, but everything quickly went out of control.

Alessandro Bastoni's red card caused Italy to lose the game, before being equalized in the final minutes. Despite holding out in extra time, the blue shirt team still collapsed in the penalty shootout when Francesco Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante successively failed to convert.

This bitter defeat caused Italy to be absent from three consecutive World Cups - something that has never happened in the history of the team that has been world champion 4 times.

In the opposite direction, Bosnia Herzegovina burst into joy when they won a ticket to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. This victory is a worthy reward for the resilient fighting spirit of the home team.

Bosnia entered the game confidently and soon created an opportunity with a long-range shot from Erdin Demirovic, but Gianluigi Donnarumma played focused. However, goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj's mistake in the 15th minute caused the home team to pay the price, when his careless pass put Nicolo Barella in a favorable position, before Kean finished to open the score.

However, Bosnia was not discouraged at all. They increased pressure continuously and forced Donnarumma to work hard. The turning point came right before halftime when Bastoni was sent off, opening up a great advantage for the home team.

Taking advantage of the numerical advantage, Bosnia put pressure in the second half and finally was rewarded with Haris Tabakovic's equalizer in the final minutes. The two teams entered extra time with a tight match, where Sebastiano Esposito almost regained the lead but was excellently saved by Vasilj.

In the penalty shootout, bravery called Bosnia's name. While Italy started poorly with missed shots, the home team accurately executed their shots. Esmir Bajraktarevic's decisive shot defeated Donnarumma, ending a nightmare night for Italy and opening a new page in Bosnia's history.