The Italian national team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third time in a row

The Italian national football team will not participate in the 2026 World Cup. In the decisive play-off match for reaching the World Cup on March 31, the Italians lost to the team of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout.

Italian striker Moise Keen opened the scoring after Nicolo Barella's pass. The situation for the Italians became more complicated in the 41st minute when defender Alessandro Bastoni received a red card for a foul on Amare Memich, leaving the team outnumbered.

In the 79th minute, the Bosnians were able to restore equality thanks to a goal by Haris Tabakovic, who successfully scored after a save by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In the penalty shootout, the players of Bosnia and Herzegovina turned out to be more accurate. As part of the Italian national team, Francesco Esposito missed the target, and Brian Cristante hit the crossbar. The decisive blow was delivered by 21-year-old Esmir Bayraktarevich.

Thus, the 2026 World Cup will be the third consecutive World Cup to be held without the participation of the Italian national team.

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On the same day, the Czech national team beat the Danish team in the 2026 World Cup play–off match with a score of 2:2 (penalty shootout 3:1). The meeting took place at the EPET Arena stadium in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

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