Italy has been the talk of the town following its elimination in the 2026 World Cup playoffs, after Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated them in a penalty shootout (4-1), following a 1-1 draw in regulation time on Tuesday, March 31.
This defeat not only left the Azzurri out of their third consecutive World Cup but also sparked a wave of criticism against Gianluigi Donnarumma, the team’s goalkeeper and singled out as one of the main culprits for the Nazionale’s latest failure.
Gigio, in the eye of he storm
With their absence confirmed for 2026, the Italy national team will have gone 12 years without even qualifying for the tournament and 20 years without playing a single knockout-round match at a World Cup. An unprecedented situation for a champion.
However, beyond Donnarumma’s performance-which included some brilliant saves and plays during the match-for many, these were overshadowed by a strange sequence.
As Pio Esposito took Italy’s first penalty kick, Gigio was fiddling with a piece of paper belonging to the opposing goalkeeper, Nikola Vasilj, which listed the names of all the Italian forwards and their kicks. Shortly afterward, the paper was damaged, and Vasilj, upon noticing this, lost his temper and lunged at Donnarumma, requiring referee Clement Turpin to intervene and separate them.
The current Man City goalkeeper, who had already received a yellow card, did not receive another penalty, which would have resulted in a red card at the most decisive moment of the match. But even after the match had ended, Donnarumma got into a verbal altercation with Edin Dezko.
This behavior was deemed unsportsmanlike, and while it had no impact on the result, it certainly did on fans, analysts, and the press.
“This man is a disgrace to soccer: Donnarumma’s unprecedented and unfair move during the penalty shootout!” This was the comment from SportsSport, the largest sports website in Bosnia and Herzegovina (via GOAL).
On X, fans also shared their opinions, especially after the 27-year-old goalkeeper posted a message on Instagram saying he “cried nonstop” following the elimination. And while some expressed their support at this time, others commented:
“Crying on IG won’t bring Italy to the World Cup. Is this passion or just PR damage control?” said one of them.
“Imagine calling yourself a leader while your nation watches the tournament from the couch for the third time in a row. Embarrassing,” commented another.
“Four years from now, this message will repeat itself,” predicted a third user.
The match seemed under control at first with Moise Kean’s goal, but Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the 41st minute changed the course of the game. Bosnia tied it late with a goal by Haris Tabakovic in the 79th minute and was more effective from the penalty spot, converting all of their penalties.
However, beyond the defeat and the altercation between Donnarumma and Vasilj, the elimination also exposed the structural crisis, which had already failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and failed to advance past the group stage in 2010 and 2014.
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