Italy came in as clear favorites to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they boast a roster full of world-class stars. While they managed to dominate in the first half, the red card shown to Alessandro Bastoni disrupted the entire team. As a result, the Azzurri were dominated for more than 45 minutes, taking the match to a penalty shootout. There, they were defeated, marking their third consecutive elimination from a FIFA World Cup.
Bosnia and Herzegovina went from being dominated to controlling the match. In the first half, they were constantly pushed back into their own area by Italy. While they remained active on the counterattacks, they were unable to impose themselves against their opponent. However, the sending off of Alessandro Bastoni gave them a major advantage, as they managed to dominate the Azzurri throughout the entire second half and extra time.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso decided to substitute Mateo Retegui, bringing on Federico Gatti in order to cover the space left by Alessandro. With this, the Azzurri adopted a fully defensive mindset, allowing Esmir Bajraktarević and Kerim Alajbegović of Bosnia and Herzegovina to shine. After conceding a goal from Haris Tabaković, Italy seemed to lose their attacking identity, being constantly disrupted and pinned back inside their own box.
Unlike in the previous match, Sandro Tonali was completely shut down throughout the game. Not only did he fail to organize the play, but he also failed to make an impact on offense. Running out of ideas, Italy failed to overcome the tie, going to a penalty shootout where they were eliminated after misses by Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante. With this, they become the only FIFA World Cup-winning national team to miss three consecutive tournaments.
Moise Kean and Haris Tabaković led the game’s scoring effort
Despite being dominated in the second half, Italy were the more dominant side in the first half. Led by the high pressing of Mateo Retegui, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s goalkeeper, Nikola Vasilj, misplaced the ball, which fell to Nicolò Barella. After receiving it, he played a pass to Moise Kean, who finished first-time to score the opening goal.
Bosnia and Herzegovina went on to dominate the Italy after the sending-off of Alessandro Bastoni. Because of this, they had more space for Amar Dedić to shine. After a great cross from him, Edin Džeko managed to head it, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a miraculous save. However, Haris Tabaković took advantage of the rebound to finish it, leveling the match.
After two 15-minute extra-time periods, Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina were unable to break the deadlock on the scoreboard. As a result, they had to decide the winner via a penalty shootout. There, the Azzurri looked quite weak, as Esposito and Cristante missed their attempts, allowing Esmir Bajraktarević to seal the match with a great strike, sending his national team back to a World Cup after 12 years.