After letting the final Bosnian penalty slip under his reach on Tuesday, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma remained on his knees, putting his hands on his head in utter disbelief.
The rest of his teammates, lined up near the halfway line, either fell to the floor or stood motionless as the home crowd erupted at the same time as the Italian players’ worlds came crashing down around them.The Azzurri had just lost to world No. 65 Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout – the result meaning Italy will not play in this year’s World Cup, the third consecutive edition that it has failed to qualify for.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport led with a headline calling it “the third apocalypse” – a sign of what soccer means to the nation.
That reality is scarcely believable for a country that has produced some of the best players in history and a team that has won the World Cup on four previous occasions, most recently back in 2006.
It was also a reality that hit the current crop of Italian players hard in the Bosnian city of Zenica.
“We still don’t believe it, that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy defender Leonardo Spinazzola said after the defeat.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families, and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
The impossible made possible
The fact that Italy even had to play Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup playoff is a sign of how bad things have become for the national side.
While the rest of Europe’s elite booked their place for this year’s World Cup by winning their qualifying groups with ease, the Azzurri finished second behind Norway.
It meant the team was condemned to the playoffs, where it successfully navigated Northern Ireland to set up a winner-takes-all tie against Bosnia.
It was a tie they couldn’t lose. Despite having to travel to play in tough conditions, Italy still boasted a team full of elite players who ply their trade in the biggest club teams in the world, like Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester City.
There also seemed to be confidence in the camp, with Italy’s players seemingly happy after they discovered they would be playing the Zmajevi (“Dragons”) instead of Wales for a place at the World Cup – a tie that was arguably easier on paper.
But the “Beautiful Game” is a sport that often cares little for reputation or statistics, and Italy got a harsh reminder of that on Tuesday, trading one set of dragons (Y Dreigiau) for another.
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