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Italy miss a third straight World Cup after Bosnia penalty loss, while Turkey, Sweden and the Czech Republic qualify
FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers: Bosnia beat Italy (AP)
Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup after a play-off defeat on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, meaning the Azzurri will miss this year’s tournament in North America. Turkey, the Czech Republic and Sweden, meanwhile, all secured their places at the finals.
Italy, four-time World Cup winners, also failed to reach the 2018 and 2022 tournaments and will once again watch from afar as the field expands to 48 teams in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Bosnia won 4-1 in the shoot-out in Zenica after the play-off final finished 1-1 after extra time. Sandro Tonali was the only Italy player to score from the spot, as Francesco Pio Esposito blazed their first penalty over and Bryan Cristante smashed his kick against the crossbar.
Moise Kean had given Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy the lead on 15 minutes, but they were reduced to 10 men when Alessandro Bastoni was shown a straight red card late in the first half.
Bosnia equalised on 79 minutes through Haris Tabakovic, and with no further goals in extra time, the tie went to penalties.
“I don’t think the boys deserved to suffer such a blow,” said Gattuso. “It’s difficult to digest.”
Ranked 66th in the world, Bosnia finished second in qualifying Group H behind Austria before beating Wales on penalties in their play-off semi-final.
Their only previous World Cup appearance came in 2014. Now they go into Group B at this year’s tournament along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
The 2014 edition was the last time Italy qualified. They went out in the group stage, as they did in 2010. They have not won a World Cup knockout game since they lifted the trophy in 2006.
In 2018 they failed to qualify after losing a two-legged play-off final to Sweden, and they also missed out in 2022 after losing a play-off to North Macedonia.
Kosovo Dream Over
Turkey qualified as Kerem Akturkoglu’s 53rd-minute goal secured a 1-0 win in Kosovo, ending the hosts’ dream of appearing at the tournament for the first time.
It will be Turkey’s first World Cup appearance since they reached the semi-finals in 2002. Vincenzo Montella’s team will go into Group D along with co-hosts the United States, Paraguay and Australia.
Montella’s side are ranked 22nd in the world, but this will be only Turkey’s third World Cup appearance — they went to the 1954 tournament before finishing third 24 years ago in South Korea and Japan.
“We achieved our dreams. The World Cup is the pinnacle in this profession,” Montella told UEFA.com.
Kosovo, ranked 78th, were aiming for a first ever World Cup appearance, having only been accepted as FIFA members a decade ago.
Gyokeres Helps Sweden Qualify But Demark Fail
Sweden recovered from a woeful qualifying group-stage campaign to secure their place at the finals in dramatic fashion.
Having beaten Ukraine 3-1 in last week’s semi-final, they edged Poland 3-2 in Stockholm, with Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres scoring an 88th-minute winner.
Earlier, Sweden had twice taken the lead only to be pegged back. Anthony Elanga’s opener on 20 minutes was cancelled out by Nicola Zalewski, before Gustaf Lagerbielke put the hosts back in front before half-time.
Karol Swiderski got Poland’s second early in the second half, but Gyokeres forced the ball over the line after a frantic goalmouth scramble late on.
Sweden had finished bottom of qualifying Group B without a win, but secured a play-off spot thanks to their performances in the UEFA Nations League.
Now coached by Englishman Graham Potter, they will go into Group F at the World Cup along with the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.
The Czech Republic matched Bosnia’s achievement by qualifying thanks to back-to-back shoot-out victories, following up their success against Ireland last week by defeating Denmark 3-1 on penalties in Prague.
The match finished 2-2 after extra time, with Pavel Sulc firing the hosts ahead before Joachim Andersen headed the Danes level.
Ladislav Krejci then put the Czechs back in front in extra time, but Kasper Hogh made it 2-2.
Denmark, however, converted just one of their four penalties, with Rasmus Hojlund, Anders Dreyer and Mathias Jensen all failing from the spot as the Czechs qualified for a first World Cup since 2006.
They go into Group A with South Africa, South Korea and Mexico.
(With inputs from Agencies)
April 01, 2026, 06:51 IST
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