Italy’s World Cup drought will extend for another cycle after the four-time champions suffered a stunning penalty shootout loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina in European playoff competition on Tuesday.
The upset eliminates FIFA’s 12th-ranked Italian squad from World Cup contention for the third tournament in a row, with their last appearance dating back to 2014.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, ranked 71st globally, secured their first World Cup qualification since 2014 with the dramatic 1-1 (4-1 on penalties) victory over the heavily favored Italians.
The match turned when Italy’s Alessandro Bastoni received a red card in the 41st minute while his team held a 1-0 advantage. Bosnia capitalized on their numerical superiority when Haris Tabakovic found the equalizer in the 79th minute, sending the contest to penalty kicks where they dominated.
Bosnia-Herzegovina will compete in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland when the expanded 48-team World Cup kicks off June 11 and runs through July 19.
Czechia 2, Denmark 2
Czechia earned their first World Cup qualification since 2006 after prevailing 3-1 in penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw in Prague.
The match remained deadlocked at 1-1 through regulation before Ladislav Krejci put Czechia ahead in extra time. Denmark’s Kasper Hogh responded in the 111th minute to force the penalty shootout, where Czechia proved superior.
The victory propelled Czechia from 43rd to 41st in FIFA rankings after their upset of 20th-ranked Denmark. They’ll join Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A.
Sweden 3, Poland 2
Viktor Gyokeres delivered the decisive blow in the 88th minute, lifting Sweden to an upset victory in Solna and their accompanying World Cup berth.
Poland controlled much of the match with 66.7% possession and advantages in shots on target (7-5) and corner kicks (9-2), but couldn’t convert their dominance into victory.
Sweden advances to Group F where they’ll face Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.
Turkiye 1, Kosovo 0
Turkiye punched their ticket to their first World Cup since 2004 with a narrow victory in Pristina, Kosovo.
The breakthrough came in the 53rd minute when Kerem Akturkoglu converted from close range with a one-timer. The triumph boosted Turkiye three positions in the world rankings to 22nd.
Turkiye claims the final position in Group D, joining the United States, Paraguay and Australia.
