Hecatomb 'Azzurri': Italy misses a third consecutive World Cup at the hands of Bosnia

A generation of youngsters in Italy has yet to see the "Azzurri" national team at a FIFA World Cup and will have to wait at least until 2030 to see it in the top-tier competition. On this occasion, the hecatomb of La Nazionale was in the final of the European play-off, at the small Bilino Polje stadium in the town of Zenica, at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina of Edin Dzeko, Tarik Muharemović, Ermedin Demirovic and Amar Dedic, who defeated the Italian team 4-1 on penalties after a long-suffering match that had ended 1-1 in regular time.

To make matters worse, it all started well for Gennaro Gattuso's side, who took the lead after 15 minutes thanks to a goal by Moise Kean, who had received a good pass from Barella after a mistake by goalkeeper Vasilj. Kean, who scored into the corner, had also scored in the 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in the playoff semifinal.

After that goal, Italy simply disappeared. Bosnia, which had struggled to beat Wales in the previous round, began to press high and handle the ball better. Italy could not breathe or find the game in a context of nervousness and intense Bosnian dynamics. There were several chances for the home side in the same way: lateral play, crosses passed and complexity for the nervous Italian defensive line made up of Mancini, Calafiori and Bastoni.

It was the Inter defender, who played as a sweeper - an unusual position for him - who was in charge of making things very difficult for his team. At 41', after a bad goal kick by Donnarumma, Amar Memić was left alone in the open field. Bastoni, the last man, took a risk with a reckless and unnecessary sweep and ended up knocking down the Bosnian. For the main man, the decision was clear: straight red.

From there, Italy could only suffer and try to hold on to the result. Gattuso, who is being questioned for his decisions from the approach, through the changes, to those chosen in the penalties, decided to take Politano off for Palestra, Kean for Esposito and give Gatti entry for Retegui. Those changes were good for Italy, who found aerial play, speed and offloading. However, two other decisions in the midfield, the introduction of Cristante and Frattesi, caused La Nazionale to take a step further back, lose more play and practically ended up inviting Bosnia to go and do damage for the entire second half.

And so it was. Donnarumma, who had saved several chances in the first half, had to multiply to save his team from an equalizer. For Italy, however, the plan wasn't going so terribly well, as Bosnia were running out of steam physically and had Kean, Esposito and Dimarco with three clear chances to make it 2-0, which would have been the home side's undoing. But goals that are not scored on one side are regretted on the other. Thus, at 79', in a controversial action, striker Haris Tabaković made it 1-1 after Donnarumma saved Dzeko's elbow shot.

The VAR, who reviewed the action, ruled the goal good. The explanation does not convince Italy: although Dzeko shot with his arm and the action directly caused the 1-1, Tabaković's shot, which came from a rebound, is technically another action, and the referees ultimately validated the goal.

Already in extra time, the controversy was greater: Palestra, a good entry, was going against the goalkeeper Vasilj and, seconds before a potential shot, Muharemović brought him down in an action quite similar to Bastoni's on the edge of the area. The referee decides to caution because, unlike the first action, there was another Bosnian defender near Palestra. Hence, the referee interpreted that Muharemović, despite being technically the last man, did not cut off an obvious goal-scoring chance.

Despite the controversies, Italy was less than Bosnia, which shot twice as much and had much more and better possession of the ball, even from before Bastoni was sent off.

Already in the penalty shootout, the die seemed cast. Bosnia felt confident and reinforced before the 15,000 souls who cheered their brave national team. In Italy, Gattuso's harangue fell short and was strategically flawed, as he sent the very young Pio Esposito to take the hottest penalty in recent years in Italian soccer, under pressure after Bosnia went 1-0 up and had to score to lead his team. The young Pio, who had been playing well throughout the match, sent it into the clouds.

Donnarumma, a specialist, could not save a single penalty. Tonali scored, and Cristante, a role player on this team, hit the post. Bosnia went through on the fourth penalty, with Donnarumma scratching a ball that finally slipped through his fingers and condemned Italy to another World Cup from home, far from the mark of history.