Bosnia ends Italy’s World Cup hope; Turkey, Sweden, Czechia qualify
For the third consecutive time, four-time champions Italy will not feature at the FIFA World Cup after Gli Azzurri were beaten 4-1 in a penalty shootout by Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
Moise Kean put Italy ahead just 15 minutes into the match, firing home a pass from Nicolo Barella from outside the 18-yard box.
However, the Italians were reduced to 10 men just a couple of minutes from halftime when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Italy was able to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina at bay until the 79th minute when Haris Tabakovic pounced home a header by Edin Dzeko that was parried by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Tabakovic’s goal sent the match into extra time, and eventually into a penalty shootout, in which Bosnia and Herzegovina decimated the visitors to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
Likewise, Czechia qualified for the World Cup after beating Denmark 3-1 on penalties. The regulation time ended 1–1, and both teams scored again in extra time, taking the match into shootouts.
In other European playoff paths, Turkey also booked their place in the tournament following a narrow 1-0 win over Kosovo, courtesy of a second-half goal by Kerem Akturkoglu.
Additionally, the Blågult of Sweden are back in the World Cup following an entertaining 3-2 win over Poland at the Friends Arena in Solna.
Anthony Elanga, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Viktor Gyokeres were on the scoresheet for Sweden, while Oskar Pietuszewski and Krzysztof Piatek scored for Poland.
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