- 31 Mar 2026 - 22:54(22:54 GMT)
Goodbye
Thank you for tuning in to Al Jazeera’s coverage of tonight’s World Cup qualifiers.
Bosnia stunned former champions Italy 4-1 on penalties, qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for only the second time, and 12 years on from their debut.
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this thrilling clash, and please join us for more action in the coming days.
On behalf of Kevin Hand, this is Manasi Pathak signing off.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 22:39(22:39 GMT)
More to come on Al Jazeera Sport
Our focus now shifts to club football.
On Saturday, we will bring you live coverage of Manchester City against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals, followed by Atletico Madrid’s match with Barcelona in La Liga.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 22:24(22:24 GMT)
Read all about it: Italy make unwelcome history
Click here to read our match report as Italy become the first former champions to fail to qualify for three consecutive World Cup finals.
Advertisement - 31 Mar 2026 - 22:09(22:09 GMT)
Turkiye and Sweden book World Cup spots
Turkiye and Sweden booked their places at the FIFA World Cup 2026 with victories against Kosovo and Poland, respectively.
Both sides were able to settle their matches, with 1-0 and 3-2 results, inside normal time.
Click here to read our full report.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:54(21:54 GMT)
‘Historic defeat’: Italian media laments World Cup failure
La Gazzetta dello Sport, the popular Italian daily newspaper, has described Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup as “another historic defeat” on its homepage.
La Repubblica has gone with “Italy fails” as its choice of words to report the defeat on its main page.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:46(21:46 GMT)
Quick recap: Italy miss out on World Cup as Bosnia qualify on penalties
Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned Italy in a penalty shootout on Tuesday to qualify for the 2026 World Cup at the expense of the four-time champions, who have not been back to the tournament since 2014.
Bosnia won 4-1 on penalties after their playoff final finished 1-1 at the end of extra time, with Italy having to play with 10 men following Alessandro Bastoni’s sending-off late in the first half.
Italy have now failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cups, as Bosnia go into Group B at the finals in June and July alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
For the first time since 2014…
🇧🇦 Bosnia-Herzegovina have qualified for the #FIFAWorldCup! pic.twitter.com/3ZPVWzxZJJ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 31, 2026
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:41(21:41 GMT)
Italy miss out on third successive World Cup
Tonight’s penalty shootout defeat means Italy, the four-time world champions, have not qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times in a row.
The Italians missed Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, and will not be there at the 2026 edition, due to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The last time Italy played at a World Cup was in 2014, when they exited in the group stage at that edition in Brazil.
Italy become the first former winner to miss three World Cup finals in a row.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:38(21:38 GMT)
Bosnia beat Italy, qualify for FIFA World Cup!
Bosnia beat Italy 4-1 on penalties to book their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup!
Bajraktarevic converts the decisive kick, beating Donnarumma, and as his shirt comes off, the celebrations erupt in Zenica.
The Bosnians are back at the World Cup for the first time in 12 years.
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:35(21:35 GMT)
Bajraktarevic scores, and Bosnia are through!
The #20 finds the bottom corner of the net, and Bosnia qualify for the FIFA World Cup!
Red flares are out, and the party has begun in Zenica.
Bosnia: O O O O
Italy: X O X
Bosnia and Herzegovina players celebrate during the penalty shootout [Matteo Ciambelli/Reuters] Advertisement - 31 Mar 2026 - 21:34(21:34 GMT)
Cristante misses
Cristante hits the bar! Italy are in deep trouble here.
Bosnia: O O O
Italy: X O X
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:33(21:33 GMT)
Alajbegovic strikes!
Alajbegovic, the teenager, scores. He finds the bottom left corner.
Bosnia: O O O
Italy: X O
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:32(21:32 GMT)
Tonali strikes!
Tonali, the Newcastle player, sends the goalie the wrong way, netting into the bottom left corner with ease.
Bosnia: O O
Italy: X O
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:31(21:31 GMT)
Tabakovic scores!
Tabakovic, who scored the late second-half equaliser, does it again as he finds the top of the net!
Bosnia: O O
Italy: X
Bosnia’s Haris Tabakovic celebrates scoring a penalty during the shootout [Matteo Ciambelli/Reuters] - 31 Mar 2026 - 21:30(21:30 GMT)
Esposito misses
The Italian blazes over the bar. He covers his face with his shirt.
Bosnia: O
Italy: X
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:29(21:29 GMT)
Tahirovic scores!
Bosnia start the shootout, as Tahirovic goes first. He thumps the ball into the bottom left corner, as the goalie goes the wrong way.
Bosnia: O
Italy:
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:23(21:23 GMT)
It’s time for penalties
The game ends 1-1 in extra time.
A shootout will decide who qualifies for the FIFA World Cup. Here we go!
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:21(21:21 GMT)
Big chance
From a short corner, Tahirovic receives the ball at the edge of the box, but his low shot is narrowly wide of the bottom corner.
Perhaps that was the last chance the home side had.
119 mins ET: Bosnia 1-1 Italy
Advertisement - 31 Mar 2026 - 21:19(21:19 GMT)
Penalty shootout looming
Extra time has ended in the Czechia vs Denmark qualifier, and the contest will be decided by a shootout after it ended 2-2 in extra time.
By the looks of it, Italy and Bosnia will likely follow the same script shortly.
117 mins ET: Bosnia 1-1 Italy
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:17(21:17 GMT)
Bosnia make a change
Hadziahmetovic comes on for Demirovic.
116 mins ET: Bosnia 1-1 Italy
- 31 Mar 2026 - 21:16(21:16 GMT)
Time is ticking for a late comeback
Katic sees a yellow for his sliding tackle on Tonali.
We have about five minutes of extra time left.
115 mins ET: Bosnia 1-1 Italy
Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Italy on penalties: World Cup playoff – updates
Our live text commentary stream of the FIFA decider, as the home side reach the 2026 edition.
Published On 31 Mar 2026
This page is now closed, but a summary of the game is available below, and you can click here for our full match report. Thanks for joining us at Al Jazeera Sport.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Italy 4-1 on penalties to book a place at the FIFA World Cup 2026 as UEFA qualifying drew to a close.
- The match was played at Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica, Bosnia, where the teams were level at 1-1 after extra time.
- Italy have won the World Cup four times but have fallen from grace at both the international and domestic football levels.
- Bosnia had only once before reached the World Cup finals, but did not make it out of their group stage on the occasion in 2014.
- Czechia beat Denmark, Turkiye beat Kosovo, and Sweden overcame Poland in the day’s other European deciders for a place at the 2026 edition in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.
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