Italy missed the World Cup again — but that's good news for Canada

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No, this is not an April Fools' joke. The Azzurri, global soccer blue bloods who have won four World Cup titles and are currently ranked 12th in the world, will miss the tournament for the third consecutive time after losing to Bosnia-Herzegovina in a penalty shootout to decide their last-chance qualifier yesterday.

With their stunning victory over Italy, the 65th-ranked Bosnians earned the final spot in Group B and will be co-host Canada's opponent for its World Cup opener on June 12 in Toronto.

In the other matches yesterday to decide the final six spots in the World Cup, Czechia defeated Denmark on penalties after a 2-2 draw, Turkey topped Kosovo 1-0, Sweden beat Poland 3-2, Congo blanked Jamaica 1-0 and Iraq got past Bolivia 2-1.

The visiting Italians, who beat Northern Ireland at home last week to reach the final of their European playoff path, grabbed an early lead against Bosnia-Herzegovina with a Moise Kean goal in the 15th minute. But a red card to defender Alessandro Bastoni for a hard tackle that ruined a Bosnian scoring chance late in the first half left Italy shorthanded the rest of the way, and the home team broke through in the 79th minute with a goal by Haris Tabakovic to tie it 1-1. After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, Bosnia outscored Italy 4-1 in the shootout to earn its second trip to the World Cup and first since 2014.

That was also the last time Italy made it. In 2018, they lost a two-leg qualifier against Sweden, and in 2022 they suffered a shocking 1-0 playoff defeat to tiny North Macedonia. After once again failing to win their first-round