*This content was translated by AI.
Italy, a four-time World Cup champion, was humiliated for failing to make it to the finals for the third time in a row. Attention is also focusing on the future of coach Zennaro Gattuso (48), who even raised the possibility of immigration if he failed to advance to the finals.
"Italian media are lamenting the national team's repeated worst nightmares," the British Daily Mail said on the 2nd (Korea time), adding, "Anger criticism is pouring out against the Azuri Corps, which lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina and failed to advance to the World Cup for the third consecutive time."
Earlier, Italy knelt after a penalty shootout after drawing 1-1 with Bosnia in the European regional playoff pass A final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Italian soccer, which missed its ticket to the finals until the 2026 tournament following the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has now suffered an unprecedented humiliation of being pushed to the margins of world football for 12 years.
The biggest interest is coach Gattuso's move. Coach Gattuso took the helm of Italy in October last year and said, "If I don't make it to the World Cup finals, I will leave Italy and live very far away." Coach Gattuso, who won the 2006 World Cup in Germany when he was active, sought to restore his honor as a leader, but as a result, he failed to win the ticket to the finals he promised.
Coach Gattuso, who had no background, went all out in the playoff final against Bosnia by operating the best members such as Niccolo Barella (Inter Milan) and Mois Keen (Fiorentina).
The atmosphere was good early in the first half. Italy gained momentum when Keane, who received Varella's pass 15 minutes after the whistle, scored the first goal.
However, in the 40th minute of the first half, defender Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan) had a major accident. He was outnumbered by a red card. Italy, which lacked one, finally allowed Haris Tabakovic to equalize in the 34th minute of the second half, and eventually, Pio Esposito and Brian Cristante missed one after another in the penalty shootout and bowed their heads.
Italy is in a state of rage. "Italy's disaster has now become a daily routine that does not even feel a shock," Gazeta Delo Sport said. "A generation has grown up without seeing Italy play in the World Cup." "Corriere dello Sport" also harshly criticized the front page with the phrase "Third failure, everyone go home!"
After the game, coach Gattuso fought back tears and said, "The players didn't play a game that deserved to be defeated," adding, "I'm proud of the children who showed dedication and love." At the same time, he put all the blame on himself, saying, "The World Cup was important to our family and Italy as a whole, so this result is a hard hit for everyone to swallow."
Bosnia, which sank Italy, confirmed its second ever World Cup qualification, joining Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland in Group B. Meanwhile, Sweden (pass B), Turkiye (pass C), and the Czech Republic (pass D) became the main players in the other playoff passes. In particular, the Czech Republic will face the South Korean national soccer team in a group in the finals.
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*This content was translated by AI.
