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03/31 17:00 CDT Italy is out again. The 4-time champion misses 3rd straight
World Cup with shootout loss in Bosnia
Italy is out again. The 4-time champion misses 3rd straight World Cup with
shootout loss in Bosnia
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
One of soccer's historic powers has reached a once-unfathomable low.
Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup after
getting beat in a penalty shootout with 10 men at 66th-ranked Bosnia and
Herzegovina in the European playoffs on Tuesday.
Moise Kean scored early on for Italy but then Azzurri center back Alessandro
Bastoni was sent off with a direct red card before the break and Bosnia
substitute Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th to send the game into extra
time.
The defeat added more misery for Italy's once-proud national team after being
eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in the qualifying
playoffs for the last two World Cups.
Bosnia won the shootout 4-1 and qualified for the first time since 2014 --- its
only previous appearance.
In the shootout, Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missed their spot kicks and
U.S.-born Esmir Bajraktarevic converted the decisive penalty for Bosnia.
"We still don't believe it --- that we're out and that it happened in this
manner," Italy defender Leonardo Spinazzola said. "It's upsetting for everyone.
For us, for our families, and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a
World Cup."
In Tuesday's other European playoff finals, Sweden, Turkey and the Czech
Republic each qualified. Sweden beat Poland 3-2; Turkey beat Kosovo 1-0; and
the Czechs won in a shootout.
Italy's latest ouster means that the 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 champions will
go at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer's biggest event.
Italy's World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed
to advance from its group on both occasions. Although the Azzurri did win the
European Championship in 2021.
Italy's last World Cup knockout match was when it won the title in 2006 by
beating France in a penalty shootout.
The only other World Cup that Italy did not qualify for was in 1958.
Lost generation An entire generation --- basically anyone under 15 --- has no memory of the last time Italy played in the World Cup: An elimination loss to Uruguay in 2014 in Brazil remembered for Luis Suarez's bite of Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder. None of Italy's current players have participated in a World Cup finals. The defeat will raise questions about the status of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso, who took over from the fired Luciano Spalletti in June with the squad already in crisis mode following a defeat at Norway in its opening qualifier. The Azzurri then went on a six-match winning streak before losing again to Norway in November to finish second in their group and end up in the playoffs again. Gattuso's Italy overcame a nervy scoreless first half to beat Northern Ireland 2-0 at home in last week's playoff semifinals. But the Azzurri struggled even more against Bosnia inside the intimate but imposing 14,000-seat Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, which is surrounded by apartment towers overlooking the field. "I want to personally apologize since we didn't make it," Gattuso said. "Today talking about my future is not important. Today it was important to get to the World Cup."
Mismatch on paper On paper, it was a massive mismatch between 12th-ranked Italy and Bosnia, which is ranked 54 places below the Azzurri by FIFA. Italy has a population of nearly 60 million. Bosnia's is about 3.5 million. The combined club salaries of Italy's players total nearly 1 billion euros ($1 million). Bosnia's total is a seventh of that.
Gyokeres the savior for Sweden Viktor Gyokeres has sent Sweden back to the World Cup. The Arsenal striker scored in the 88th minute to earn the Swedes a 3-2 win over Poland, five days after netting a hat trick in the playoff semifinal victory over Ukraine. Poland great Robert Lewandowski, at age 37, was hoping to qualify for what would likely have been his final World Cup. Former Chelsea and West Ham coach Graham Potter was hired by Sweden last year --- initially on a short-term deal --- with one goal: to get the team to the World Cup. He has succeeded. Sweden reached the quarterfinals in its last World Cup appearance, in 2018.
No dream debut for Kosovo Turkey will be in the United States' group at the World Cup after winning 1-0 at Kosovo to reach soccer's biggest stage for the first time since 2002. The hosts were hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, fewer than 10 years since the national team was out of the international soccer family. It was in May 2016 that Kosovo and Gibraltar were voted into FIFA as its 210th and 211th member federations. That was eight years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Kosovo had the best chance of an entertaining first half but Turkey goalkeeper U?urcan aklr pulled off a superb one-handed save to push Fisnik Asllani's strike onto the crossbar. Turkey got the breakthrough eight minutes into the second half. Kerem Aktrko?lu got finest of touches to ensure Orkun Kk's cross-shot went into the far bottom corner. Turkey joins the U.S. in Group D, along with Paraguay and Australia. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Lost generation An entire generation --- basically anyone under 15 --- has no memory of the last time Italy played in the World Cup: An elimination loss to Uruguay in 2014 in Brazil remembered for Luis Suarez's bite of Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder. None of Italy's current players have participated in a World Cup finals. The defeat will raise questions about the status of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso, who took over from the fired Luciano Spalletti in June with the squad already in crisis mode following a defeat at Norway in its opening qualifier. The Azzurri then went on a six-match winning streak before losing again to Norway in November to finish second in their group and end up in the playoffs again. Gattuso's Italy overcame a nervy scoreless first half to beat Northern Ireland 2-0 at home in last week's playoff semifinals. But the Azzurri struggled even more against Bosnia inside the intimate but imposing 14,000-seat Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, which is surrounded by apartment towers overlooking the field. "I want to personally apologize since we didn't make it," Gattuso said. "Today talking about my future is not important. Today it was important to get to the World Cup."
Mismatch on paper On paper, it was a massive mismatch between 12th-ranked Italy and Bosnia, which is ranked 54 places below the Azzurri by FIFA. Italy has a population of nearly 60 million. Bosnia's is about 3.5 million. The combined club salaries of Italy's players total nearly 1 billion euros ($1 million). Bosnia's total is a seventh of that.
Gyokeres the savior for Sweden Viktor Gyokeres has sent Sweden back to the World Cup. The Arsenal striker scored in the 88th minute to earn the Swedes a 3-2 win over Poland, five days after netting a hat trick in the playoff semifinal victory over Ukraine. Poland great Robert Lewandowski, at age 37, was hoping to qualify for what would likely have been his final World Cup. Former Chelsea and West Ham coach Graham Potter was hired by Sweden last year --- initially on a short-term deal --- with one goal: to get the team to the World Cup. He has succeeded. Sweden reached the quarterfinals in its last World Cup appearance, in 2018.
No dream debut for Kosovo Turkey will be in the United States' group at the World Cup after winning 1-0 at Kosovo to reach soccer's biggest stage for the first time since 2002. The hosts were hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, fewer than 10 years since the national team was out of the international soccer family. It was in May 2016 that Kosovo and Gibraltar were voted into FIFA as its 210th and 211th member federations. That was eight years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Kosovo had the best chance of an entertaining first half but Turkey goalkeeper U?urcan aklr pulled off a superb one-handed save to push Fisnik Asllani's strike onto the crossbar. Turkey got the breakthrough eight minutes into the second half. Kerem Aktrko?lu got finest of touches to ensure Orkun Kk's cross-shot went into the far bottom corner. Turkey joins the U.S. in Group D, along with Paraguay and Australia. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
