Italy's World Cup Drought Continues After Penalty Loss to Bosnia

Italy's hopes of ending their World Cup drought were shattered as they lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, marking their third consecutive failure to qualify for the tournament. The four-time champions, who last won the World Cup in 2006, were reduced to 10 men after Alessandro Bastoni's first-half sending off. Despite taking the lead through Moise Kean, Italy were pegged back by Haris Tabakovic's 79th-minute equalizer, and ultimately succumbed to a penalty shootout defeat. The loss has sparked a crisis in Italian football, with the team's absence from the World Cup set to stretch to at least 16 years. 'We still don't believe it - that we're out and that it happened in this manner,' said defender Leonardo Spinazzola. Italy's coach, Gennaro Gattuso, apologized for the team's failure, saying 'talking about my future is not important. Today it was important to get to the World Cup.' Meanwhile, other nations have secured their spots at the World Cup, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq. The stage is now set for the World Cup, with 48 teams set to compete in the tournament.