For the third straight time, Italy will miss the FIFA World Cup.
And because of that, Toronto won’t get the spectacle of a Canada-Italy World Cup match.
In a shock result, visiting Italy lost 2-1 (4-1 on penalty kicks) to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final of their UEFA playoff qualifier on Tuesday, officially eliminating the Italians from World Cup contention.
With the win, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured its spot and will take on host Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B action.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will face Canada in the opener for both teams on June 12 in Toronto.
Misses from Italy’s Francesco Esposito and Bryan Cristante in spot kicks set the loss in stone for the Italians, extending their World Cup drought to 12 years after having missed the tournament in 2018 and 2022.
In response, the Bosnians converted all four of their penalty attempts.
Beyond the clinical conversions in penalties, it took some late heroics from the Bosnians to secure their spot, as Haris Tabakovic found the back of the net for the equalizer in the 79th minute.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was also helped by a crucial mistake from Italy just before the half-time mark. Despite taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room, the Azzurri went back in a man down, as centre-back Alessandro Bastoni was shown a red in the 41st minute for denying a clear goal-scoring chance with a last-gasp slide tackle.
However, it wouldn’t be enough to finish the job in regulation time. Despite a stark contrast in possession (Bosnia and Herzegovina out-possessed Italy 65-35) and chances (Bosnia and Herzegovina out-hot Italy 30-9, with 11 shots on goal to Italy’s three), the home side was unable to finish the job without penalties.
Bosnia and Herzegovina last qualified for the World Cup in 2014 — its first appearance at the tourney — and were eliminated in group play.
In other European qualifier results, Sweden beat Poland 3-2 to secure its spot in Group F, Turkiye beat Kosovo 1-0 for a spot in Group D, and Czechia beat Denmark 3-2 in penalties for a spot in Group A. Congo and Jamaica play later on Tuesday for a spot in Group K, while Iraq and Bolivia square off for a place in Group I.
