Four-time men’s World Cup champions Italy will miss the tournament for a third consecutive time after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in a European playoff final this morning.
It is the first time a former World Cup winner has missed three tournaments in a row.
What happened?
Playing away in Zenica, Italy took the lead through Moise Kean in the 15th minute. The momentum of the match shifted when Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni was sent off before half-time for a last-ditch slide tackle on a Bosnian attacker who was through on goal, leaving Italy to play the entire second half with ten players.
Bosnia then levelled scores through Haris Tabaković in the 79th minute. After extra time finished 1-1, Italy missed two of their four penalties in the shootout, while Bosnia converted all four of theirs.
Italy has not played at a World Cup since 2014, and has not won a knockout match at one since the 2006 final. They missed the 2018 tournament after losing to Sweden, then missed 2022 after a shock defeat to North Macedonia, despite having won the European Championship just months earlier.
An entire generation of Italian fans, anyone under 15, has no memory of their country at a World Cup.
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said: "I want to personally apologise since we didn't make it. Today talking about my future is not important. Today it was important to get to the World Cup."
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Bosnia qualified for only their second World Cup, after 2014.
What does this mean for Australia?
Meanwhile, Türkiye beat Kosovo 1-0 in another European playoff to claim the final spot in Australia's World Cup group. The Socceroos will now face Türkiye, the U.S, and Paraguay in Group D at the tournament, which will be held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada from 11 June to 19 July.
They open against Türkiye in Vancouver on Saturday, 14 June, before facing the U.S in Seattle on Friday, 20 June. Their final group match is against Paraguay in San Francisco on Thursday, 26 June.
Australia continued their positive build-up for the tournament with a 5-1 friendly win over Curaçao in Melbourne last night. Rising star Nestory Irankunda scored twice as a substitute in a dominant second-half display. Curaçao, with a population of around 150,000, became the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup earlier this year, earning its place through CONCACAF qualifying.
Other results
Sweden beat Poland 3-2, Czechia beat Denmark on penalties, and the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Jamaica 1-0 in extra time to also qualify overnight. Sweden return to the World Cup for the first time since 2018, Czechia for the first time in 20 years, and DR Congo for the first time since 1974, when they competed as Zaire.
The final remaining spot will be decided today when Iraq, coached by former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, face Bolivia in Monterrey (2pm AEDT). Of the 48 spots at this year's tournament, 47 are now filled.
