Italy Misses FIFA World Cup 2026 Spot Again
Four-Time Champions Italy Miss Out on FIFA World Cup 2026. Fails To Qualify For The Third Consecutive Time
Italy has failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time. In the final match of the European qualifiers, they lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-4 in a penalty shootout.
The World Cup will take place next year from 11 June to 19 July in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. This will be the 23rd edition of the tournament. Matches will be played across 16 cities. For the first time, 48 teams are taking part, and three countries are hosting together.
The European qualifier final was played today in Zenica. Italy, who have won the World Cup four times, started well. Moise Kean scored in the 15th minute to give them the lead. However, before the end of the first half, defender Alessandro Bastoni was shown a red card. This left Italy with only 10 players on the pitch.
Bosnia took advantage of this in the second half. In the 79th minute, Haris Tabakovic scored to make the score 1-1. No more goals were scored during full-time or extra time, so the match went to a penalty shootout.
Italy struggled under the pressure of the shootout. Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante both missed their penalties. Meanwhile, Bosnia’s Esmir Bajraktarevic scored the winning goal to give his team a historic victory. Bosnia scored four penalties while Italy managed only one.
After the loss, Italian defender Leonardo Spinazzola said, “We still cannot believe we are out of the tournament and that it happened this way.”
Groups for Other Big Teams
- Defending champions Argentina are in Group J.
- Spain is in Group H with Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
- France is in Group I with Senegal and Norway.
- Germany is in Group E.
- Portugal is in Group K.
- England is in Group L.
Groups H, I, J, K, and L are being called the “Groups of Death” because they contain very strong teams. In Spain’s group, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia are known for causing upsets in the last World Cup. France also faces tough competition from Senegal and Norway.
Final Groups For FIFA 2026
2026 World Cup Group Stage
Group A
- Mexico
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Czechia
Group B
- Canada
- Bosnia and H.
- Qatar
- Switzerland
Group C
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Haiti
- Scotland
Group D
- USA
- Paraguay
- Australia
- Turkiye
Group E
- Germany
- Curaçao
- Ivory Coast
- Ecuador
Group F
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Sweden
- Tunisia
Group G
- Belgium
- Egypt
- Iran
- New Zealand
Group H
- Spain
- Cape Verde
- Saudi Arabia
- Uruguay
Group I
- France
- Senegal
- Iraq
- Norway
Group J
- Argentina
- Algeria
- Austria
- Jordan
Group K
- Portugal
- DR Congo
- Uzbekistan
- Colombia
Group L
- England
- Croazia
- Ghana
- Panama