FIFA Men's World Cup: Bosnia and Herzegovina earn trip to Seattle in win over Italy

Tim Booth, The Seattle Times on Mar 31, 2026

Published in Soccer

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SEATTLE — So much for seeing one of the most storied soccer countries in the world playing in the FIFA Men’s World Cup in Seattle.

The Italian curse continued.

Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled a shocking upset, beating Italy on penalties on Tuesday to claim the final European qualifying spot for the World Cup and with it a spot in one of the group stage matches to be played at Lumen Field.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy finished tied 1-1 after 120 minutes of action before Bosnia advanced 3-1 on penalties.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will face Qatar on June 24 in the final match of Group B in the third of four group stage matches being played in Seattle.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will open the tournament against Canada in Toronto before facing Switzerland in Los Angeles.

While the country of just over 3 million making the tournament for only the second time is a terrific underdog story, Bosnia and Herzegovina advancing does mean Seattle’s schedule of matches misses out on hosting one of the premier names of international soccer.

The Italians are four-time World Cup champions — the last of which came in 2006 in Germany. But this will be the third straight tournament the Italians are spectators after failing to qualify. The Italians lost in a playoff to Sweden in 2018 and were stunned in a semifinal match by North Macedonia in 2022.

But with the tournament expanding to 48 teams from 32 it seemed a formality that the Italians would find their way to North America. Italy beat Northern Ireland in a semifinal matchup last week, but couldn’t get through the second stage.

Against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Italians took a 1-0 lead on Moises Kean’s goal in the 15th minute. But Alessandro Bastoni was shown a red card late in the first half and Italy played the rest of the match with just 10 men. Bosnia and Herzegovina equalized in the 79 th minute and clinched the victory in the fourth round of the penalty kicks.

Esmir Bajraktarevic, a native of Appleton, Wis., who currently plays in the PSV in the Netherlands, scored the winning penalty to set off wild celebrations and send the Italians home with disappointment yet again.

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