Italy Set to Miss FIFA World Cup for Third Straight Time, Unwanted Record Created

Zenica (Bosnia): Four-time champions Italy are set to miss the FIFA World Cup for a third consecutive time. The decisive play-off match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday proved to be a heartbreak for Italy, as their defeat denied them entry into the World Cup, while Bosnia secured qualification.

At the end of extra time, both teams were locked at 1-1. Italy had taken an early lead when Moise Kean scored in the 15th minute to make it 1-0. However, Italy suffered a setback after one of their defenders was shown a red card, reducing them to 10 men. Bosnia capitalized on the advantage, and Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th minute to make it 1-1.

With the score remaining level after extra time, the match went into a penalty shootout, where Bosnia defeated Italy 4-1. As a result, Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time. This marks the first time in history that a former FIFA World Cup champion nation has missed out on qualification for three straight editions.

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The FIFA World Cup is set to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico in about two and a half months. Italy had also failed to qualify for the previous two editions and will now miss out once again, completing an unwanted hat-trick of World Cup absences.

Italy had earlier failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, losing in the play-offs to Sweden and North Macedonia respectively. After 12 years, Italy had another opportunity to return to the World Cup, but the Azzurri once again fell short. Italy last won the FIFA World Cup title in 2006.