Football World Cup: “Now everyone has to be thrown out!” – Italy’s press is foaming after the World Cup exit | EUROtoday

The triple of failure is ideal. The four-time world champion Italy was as soon as once more unable to qualify for the World Cup and must watch the XXL event in North America in the summertime. Despite taking the lead, coach Gennaro Gattuso’s group misplaced 1:4 (1:1, 1:1, 1:0) on penalties in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Squadra Azzurra performed outnumbered for a very long time after the pink card in opposition to Alessandro Bastoni (forty first minute). In the showdown from the purpose, two of the three Italian shooters missed.

After the elimination in opposition to Sweden earlier than the 2018 World Cup and the embarrassment in opposition to North Macedonia in 2022, Zenica’s night can even go down ingloriously in Italy’s lengthy soccer historical past. After the emotional overcome the clear favorites, Bosnia-Herzegovina, led by Schalke striker Edin Dzeko, will face Switzerland, Qatar and co-hosts Canada in World Cup Group B.

Attacker Moise Kean (fifteenth) scored the opening objective for Italy early on and in addition benefited from a critical mistake by St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, whose unsuccessful cross led to the objective being conceded. Italy then restricted themselves to defending and withdrew much more on the defensive after a pink card for Bastoni. They had been ready for a counterattack – and once more it was Kean who had the second objective on his toes. But the striker, who was operating alone in direction of Vasilj, put the ball simply over the objective. In common time, Italy solely shot on the Bosnian objective twice.

Bosnia pushed for an equalizer for a very long time, however was lastly rewarded by Haris Tabakovic (79th) from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Ultimately, the penalty shootout ended all of Italy’s World Cup desires, with Francesco Esposito and Bryan Cristante lacking from the spot. Bosnia, led by Dzeko, is participating on the planet’s most vital event for the second time since 2014. The press opinions on the triumph of the small – and the drama of the large.

Italy

„Gazzetta dello Sport“: “Italy, another historic defeat. Like the worst nightmare. We had World Cup participation almost in the bag and had to watch as it was snatched away from us on penalties. (…) The ghosts of the past return and haunt our heads. Despite Donnarumma’s saves during the 120 minutes, the penalties seal our fate: goodbye, World Cup, and now the blame begins.”

„Tuttosport“: “Now everyone has to be thrown out! Total failure. A disaster. Italy says a bitter farewell for the third time.”

“Corriere della Sera”: “Apocalypse Italy: The World Cup is canceled for the third time in a row. It’s no use defending yourself, Italy is out of the race and small, iron Bosnia is going to the World Cup. Kean briefly gives the Azzurri hope, but Bosnia-Herzegovina humiliates us in the penalty shootout.”

“Corriere dello Sport”: “In Zenica, another depressing night for Italian football. Unfortunately, our failure is not just a flop, the third in a row: it is the blatant failure of a system.”

„La Stampa“: “Disaster for Italy, Bosnia wins on penalties. The Azzurri are eliminated from the World Cup for the third time in a row. The decisive factor was the mistakes of Pio Esposito and Cristante from the penalty spot. The worst thing about it is that it is exactly right. Italy practically never played this game. (…) The catastrophe occurred in Zenica.”

England

„Daily Mail“: “If this result doesn’t force Italian football to throw everything away and start over, then I don’t think anything else will.”

„The Sun“: “Italy misses the World Cup qualification – after the catastrophic defeat against Bosnia, the twelve-year curse continues.”

„The Mirror“: “The Azzurri, who won Euro 2020 during their poor World Cup run, will now have to watch this summer’s big tournament from the sidelines, despite being the second most successful team in World Cup history.”

„The Guardian“: “The story is about another Italian apocalypse, another sad event for a nation that has won four men’s World Cups but is beginning to believe it may never compete in one again after missing out for the third time in a row. While the hosts celebrated, Italy remained trapped in its own hell – the only world champions not to have qualified for this year’s World Cup. That hardly seems surprising anymore.”

Spain

“Mark”: “Italy, the biggest drama in world football. Bosnia buries Italy and heads to the World Cup after an epic night.”

„AS“: “Fucking misery, Italy! Italy is in tears and despair as they fail to take part in the World Cup for the third time in a row and twelve years after their last participation.”

France

„The Team“: “Ciao Italy. The Italian curse continues. The inexorable decline of Italy, which will miss the World Cup finals for the third year in a row. The small stadium in Zenica, with its 9,000 rowdy fans and its questionable pitch, had all the hallmarks of a trap. And Gianluigi Donnarumma and his teammates fell into that trap.”

„The Parisian“: “Although the result remains the same, Italy always manages to invent a new scenario to disappoint their fans.”

Switzerland

„Blick“: “Mamma mia! Italy is missing the World Cup again. That’s not possible!”

Austria

“Kronen-Zeitung”: “GAU perfect! Italy will miss the 2026 World Cup.”

USA

„New York Times“: “What torture. Italy gave everything and achieved nothing. It was a memorable evening in Zenica. When Kean put Italy in the lead, you had the feeling that things might be different this time. But no. Italy are the first former world champions to fail to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.”