Italy woke up on Wednesday in a state of anger and frustration after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time, losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff match. This has prolonged the sporting nightmare for this football-passionate country. The headlines of the country's two main sports newspapers, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, read: 'We will all stay at home,' indicating another summer without the team, which has won the title four times, participating in the World Cup. Fans in Rome were stunned after Italy lost to Bosnia 4-1 on penalties on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw. This is the third consecutive playoff defeat after losses to Sweden and North Macedonia. Davide Calderetta, who watched the match in a city bar, said: 'Everything went badly from the start of the match.' On the front page of Italy's main daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera, the headline was 'World Cup Curse,' and the newspaper called for a rebuild of the system that produced some of the greatest footballers but has won only one match at the finals since lifting the trophy in 2006. The team from the Balkans will now play in Group H alongside Canada, one of the host countries, Qatar, and Switzerland. Fan Eduardo Stimbri said: 'Either there is a mistake in the youth player development system, or it is illogical.' Italy finished the match with ten men from the 42nd minute after Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for a late tackle when he was the last defender, which was a crucial turning point as Italy was leading at the time. Melanie Cardiello said: 'We feel a great sense of frustration and disappointment. The team was not good, and some unprepared players came on and played anyway. This is illogical, and honestly, I am shocked.' Italy's last World Cup qualification was in 2014, which was Bosnia's only previous appearance in the tournament. Even when you feel frustrated, you always hold on to hope. This is the third time in a row.'
