Football

Bosnia-Italy 5-2, anatomy of a world defeat

Gattuso's Azzurri lost their third consecutive play-off final: this time penalties doomed us

by Dario Ceccarelli

1 April 2026

Gattuso, cittì dell’Italia, dopo la sconfitta contro la Bosnia al terzo play off mondiale consecutivo LAPRESSE

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Perhaps it is better to let it go. Resign ourselves to our obvious decline and stop thinking that we have a great past. That we have won four World Cups, two European Championships and everything we know. It is no longer time. That time has passed. The reality, even if we can complain about some questionable refereeing decisions, is that for the third consecutive time we will not go to the World Cup. That we are mediocre. And that Bosnia, a nation of 3 million inhabitants in 66th place in the Fifa rankings, will go instead of us after beating us (on penalties) in yet another play-off final, our national speciality.

Of course, various excuses can be made, not least that of having been reduced to ten men due to Bastoni's expulsion for almost eighty minutes. But that, not to pick on Bastoni, was an unforgivable slight. We had been ahead since the 15th minute, thanks to a fine right-footer from Kean, and instead of handling the final minutes of the first half with coolness, our entire defence was surprised by a clumsy Donnarumma clearance on which Bastoni, intervening late as the last man on Memic, made the omelette that cost him his expulsion.

Playing with ten men, in a stadium bubbling with fans, is certainly not easy. It takes courage, strength, coolness. But in front of Italia were not Germany or Brazil, it is better to say it again for the sake of honesty. There was a team, Bosnia, which has so far only participated in one World Cup in 2014. And which at home in the last three years has only won against Iceland, Leichtenstein, Cyprus, San Marino and Romania. Yet, despite having had three-four chances (Kean and Pio Esposito's were clamorous) to close out, we experienced another witch's night. A siege from Fort Apache, with crosses and crosses raining down on us from all sides. A blizzard. And we have Donnarumma to thank for the fact that we managed to hold on to the lead until the 80th minute, when in front of yet another scrum in front of our goal, Tabakovic scored the 1-1, giving the Bosnians new energy.

Maybe Dzeko slightly touched the ball with his arm in the action, but these are details that do not erase our new failure. A bitter failure because it confirms a trend: that as a national team we are no longer competitive. Being out of three World Cups is the certification of the end of a long cycle, of a structural decline that we are unable to reverse. Or rather: we do nothing to reverse it.

Let's face it: after the previous failures (Sweden and Northern Macedonia), Italia came to this new bottleneck with the same shortcomings as always: without having reduced debts, invested in facilities and nurseries to revive a movement that, despite everything, still has 1.5 million members. But only foreigners play in Serie A now.

For comparison, Bosnia has only 15,000 members. An enormous difference, which makes the discourse on the social attachment and courage shown, on this occasion, by the Azzurri unacceptable. We can understand Gattuso who, in tears, apologised and thanked his players for their commitment and heart. It is true: in the second half, Italia kept the point, even trying to close out the game. But the question is another: it should not have even come to this crossroads. "You are really bad if you are afraid of Wales and prefer us," Dzeko had said on the eve of the match.

A perfect summary of how confused Italia arrived in Zenica, in this 8,000-seat stadium with people throwing smoke bombs from the balconies of nearby buildings. Even their cheering, as hot and deafening as it was, was fair in the end. There had been fears of hellish scenarios, improbable circles of Dante. None of this: there were fans justifiably happy to send their national team to the World Cup by overcoming an opponent with a noble blazon but a present in total freefall. Beyond what Gattuso will do (his contract expires next June), the problem is much deeper. Of coaches, from Ventura to Mancini, from Spalletti to Gattuso, we have consumed industrial quantities. All incapable? All to be thrown away? But what can a coach do if the big clubs only give space, with a few exceptions, to foreigners? And if the league and the Federcalcio don't even give you the chance to organise an internship, never stopping the championship? President Gravina has to ask himself some questions now. You cannot always float in mediocrity. Never resign? The only way to rise is to hit rock bottom. Well, we have touched it.

Some of the Azzurri are also to be commended: Kean, Locatelli, Barella and Tonali were up to the task. And even Palestra, who took over for Politano, gave a powerful push on the right. But there were too many inaccuracies, too little lucidity. Above all, this inability to contain the Bosnian outfielders who were jumping us as we wanted to get to the cross. You can't hold up such constant pressure indefinitely. One can complain, not wrongly, about some refereeing episodes that were not entirely convincing. Like when, in the first overtime, Mr. Turpin punished Muharemovic only with a yellow after he had knocked down Palestra, who had been thrown towards the Bosnian goal.

Let's say that with Bastoni the referee had been more severe. But these are speeches that make little sense: the great teams are superior even to refereeing oversights. We haven't been for some time and it is from this awareness that we must start again if we want to bring our football back to an adequate level. But without this cloying end-of-the-world hype, with these mournful reminders of the apocalypse or the many Caporettos in our history, starting with the unforgettable Korea. And let's leave the children alone without the world summers. They will have fun with Jannik Sinner or Kimi Antonelli. Now is not the time for such metaphors, let's stay in football. The first time with Sweden might have been enough, now it's enough. The speech is simple: we are mediocre, let's start again from the foundation.

This inadequacy of ours was also seen in the penalty shoot-out. It's not true that it's a lottery: in the penalty shoot-out the one who is more determined, more lucid wins. And has more desire to hit the goal. The Bosnians with Thairovic, Tabacovic and Alajbegovic were relentless. Ours were lost, looking uncertain: the young Esposito shot badly high, Cristante against the crossbar. The only one up to the mark was Tonali, who coolly dispatched the Vasilj goalkeeper. But it was no accident: Tonali is in another category, he plays in the Premier League, he is used to these challenges. Once Italy had a lot of Tonali. Not anymore. The sooner we get that into our heads, the better for everyone.