The national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina has qualified for the World Cup after defeating Italy on penalties in the playoff final.
After two periods of extra time and more than 120 minutes of football, the traveler to the world’s biggest stage this summer was decided only after a penalty lottery; it will be the host, who managed to take down the Italians after incredible drama – 4:1, (1:1, 0:1).
Sergej Barbarez will thus lead the Dragons to their second World Cup, while Gennaro Gattuso will have to wait for a new opportunity, as the Italians last played in a World Cup back in 2014, when they were eliminated in the group stage.
The match began at a high tempo, and within the first few minutes, the BiH national team threatened the guests. However, a cold shower for the home fans arrived in the 15th minute. Goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj made an incomprehensible error during a pass, serving Nicolo Barella the ball “on a silver platter.” The Italian midfielder immediately found Moise Kean, and the Fiorentina forward routinely hammered the ball into the net for 0:1.
Instead of collapsing after conceding, Sergej Barbarez’s men went on a total offensive. Attempts by Bašić, Džeko, and Katić followed one after another, but the invincible Gianluigi Donnarumma stood in the Italian goal. The Manchester City goalkeeper stopped a projectile from Bašić with a miraculous intervention in the 20th minute, and four minutes later, he was again more successful than Katić, who was left completely alone five meters out after a corner.
The Dragons came closest to an equalizer in the 38th minute. Bajraktarević sent in a surgically precise cross, Demirović headed the ball, and while the entire stadium already saw the ball in the net, it passed just wide of the post of an already beaten Donnarumma.
The home team received a great gift in the 42nd minute. Memić escaped the Italian defense, and Bastoni brought him down as the last man, leaving no dilemma for French referee Clément Turpin, who showed him a direct red card!
Azzurri coach Gennaro Gattuso immediately made a panicked move, taking off striker Retegui to patch the defensive hole by bringing on Gatti, and the siege of the Italian goal continued until the end of the half, during which Memić missed another great header opportunity.
BiH coach Sergej Barbarez made aggressive moves right at the start of the second half. Kolašinac and Šunjić stayed in the locker room, while Tahirović and Alajbegović rushed onto the field. The change in rhythm was felt instantly. As early as the 51st minute, Alajbegović tested a shot, but the Manchester City goalkeeper once again showed why he is probably the best in the world at this moment.
The Italians, aware that they could not play an open game with ten men, waited for their chance from counterattacks, and it came in the 60th minute when Moise Kean could have become the absolute hero and settled the winner. He broke through alone against Vasilj in a situation mirrored from the opening goal, but this time luck favored the host, as the ball went high over the crossbar.
With the entry of Tabaković and Burnić in the 71st minute, Bosnia and Herzegovina went all or nothing. Just a minute later, the stands were already on their feet. Benjamin Tahirović unleashed a powerful shot heading for the corner, but Donnarumma stretched to his full length and tipped the ball into a corner with his fingertips. The disbelief on the faces of the Dragons at those moments best illustrated the performance of the Italian captain.
Gattuso responded to the pressure by introducing Cristante and Esposito, who, having just stepped onto the field, had a chance to punish the rival’s misses, but his shot ended up in the stands of Bilino Polje.
When it seemed that the Italian “catenaccio” with ten men would withstand every onslaught, the wall finally broke. In the 79th minute, after another in a series of dangerous crosses and general chaos in the Italian six-yard box, the strongest and most resourceful was substitute Haris Tabaković. The Dragons’ striker literally hammered the ball into the net from close range, causing an eruption of joy in the stands.
How much this goal shook the Azzurri is best shown by their captain’s reaction. Gianluigi Donnarumma earned a yellow card due to fierce protests after conceding the goal, visibly rattled after appearing invincible until then.
Although he capitulated in the 79th minute, the Italian goalkeeper was the only reason the match did not end in a complete turnaround during regulation time. In the 87th minute, Ermedin Demirović once again outjumped the guests’ defense and sent a surgically precise header, but Donnarumma, with an incredible reflex, diverted the ball into a corner with his fingertips.
Previously, Amar Dedić also tested a long-range shot, but the ball whistled past the post, while Gattuso, by bringing on Frattesi for Barella in the 85th minute, tried only one thing – to somehow “survive” until extra time, which he eventually managed.
The Dragons had the initiative throughout most of the first extra period, circling around the Azzurri’s penalty area, but Gattuso’s defensive block, refreshed by Spinazzola’s entry for Dimarco, was impenetrable.
However, the end of the first extra period was much more exciting in front of the home team’s goal. First, in the 102nd minute, a controversial situation was seen that could have further ignited already heated passions on the field. Muharemović fouled Palestra in front of his penalty area; the Italians surrounded Clément Turpin demanding a direct red card, but the French referee showed a yellow to the Sassuolo defender.
Finally, the Italians had a huge chance in the final seconds of the first extra period, leaving the fans in Zenica silent. The young Esposito caught a fantastic header and everyone saw it in the net, but Nikola Vasilj, with a miraculous one-handed reaction, managed to stop that shot. It was a moment of supreme concentration by the BiH goalkeeper, who definitely redeemed himself for the blunder on Italy’s opening goal with this move.
The second extra period passed in the complete dominance of the BiH selection. Already in the 107th minute, Demirović had a chance to crown Dedić’s cross, but the ball would not go into the goal. As time went on, the pressure grew, and in the 113th minute, Alajbegović forced Donnarumma into another intervention with a surgically precise low shot, while in the 119th minute, Tahirović “froze” the Italian defense. The Dragons’ midfielder took his time setting up on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot, but the ball whistled a few centimeters past the post of the already beaten Italian captain. That was also the last opportunity in extra time, so the penalty lottery decided the traveler to the World Cup.
Playoffs finished, these are all the participants of the 2026 World Cup
Before extra time, Sweden and Turkey secured their passage. The Swedes broke Poland after a spectacle with five goals, while Turkey, with a goal by Aktürkoğlu, took down the so-called Kosovo.
Two duels and two travelers to the World Cup were decided after penalties. First, the duel in Czechia finished, where the host was better than Denmark, while the last traveler from Europe was decided in Zenica, where Bosnia broke Italy on penalties and earned their visa.
Below you can see all the groups for the 2026 World Cup; two more participants are still awaited, who will be known after the completion of the Intercontinental playoffs.
Groups at the 2026 World Cup
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia/Denmark.
Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Italy, Qatar, Switzerland.
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland.
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey.
Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador.
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia.
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand.
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay.
Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq/Bolivia, Norway.
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan.
Group K: Portugal, DR Congo/Jamaica, Uzbekistan, Colombia.
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama.
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Source: Sportal, Photo: Elmedin Hajrovic / ATAImage