Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy – News and Probable Lineups

Both teams are desperate to put an end to 12 years of disappointment, as Itália faces Bosnia-Herzegovina for a spot in this summer’s World Cup, with their clash set for Tuesday in a crucial playoff final.

Taking place at Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica, neither side has featured in a FIFA World Cup since 2014, promising a night filled with excitement and tension.

Match overview

Itália has been haunted by the memory of consecutive World Cup failures, leading to almost unbearable pressure to qualify this time around.

The Azzurri, who have won the World Cup four times, last appeared on the global stage seven years before their victory at the delayed Euros in 2021.

This marks their third consecutive World Cup qualifying campaign ending in the playoffs: following painful losses to Suécia and North Macedonia, they managed to advance past Thursday’s semi-final.

In a tense first half in Bergamo, they overcame Northern Irlanda with a 2-0 win, thanks to goals in the second half from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean.

Despite winning every other match in Group I, the early part of Itália’s qualifying campaign was marred by two defeats by three goals to Noruega, indicating vulnerabilities in their defence.

On a positive note, head coach Gennaro Gattuso has seen his squad average over two goals per game since taking over from Luciano Spalletti last September.

A World Cup winner two decades ago, Gattuso now seeks to guide La Nazionale to Bosnia for a much-needed playoff victory, with the cost of defeat being almost unimaginable.

As they prepare for their seventh matchup with Itália, Bosnia-Herzegovina has only secured a single victory to date: a surprising 2-1 win in their first encounter, a friendly in Sarajevo back in 1996.

Much has changed since that time, but both nations are pursuing their first World Cup finals appearance since 2014, with just one more triumph needed.

In Thursday’s playoff semi-final, Bosnia leveled the score after evergreen captain Edin Dzeko found the net, then secured victory over País de Gales via penalties, maintaining composure in a tightly contested match in Cardiff.

A second win would solidify their place in Group B at this summer’s World Cup, where they would join co-hosts Canadá, as well as Catar and Suíça.

While Itália was always destined for the playoffs after a heavy loss to Noruega in their opening match, the Dragons painfully fell short of automatic qualification.

A late equalizer against Group H winners Áustria cost them dearly in November, but they now have another opportunity to reach just their second major finals since gaining independence.

Cold weather and a close, passionate crowd should work in their favor in Zenica, even if Bosnia currently ranks 58 places lower than the Azzurri in FIFA’s latest world standings.

Team News

Gattuso is anticipated to stick with the Italia XI that began against Northern Irlanda, although Mateo Retegui appeared slightly out of form and could be replaced by 20-year-old Inter de Milão forward Pio Esposito.

The latter has found the net three times in his past five World Cup qualifiers and recently scored both of Inter’s last two league goals.

With Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa both unavailable this month, Alessandro Bastoni, Gianluca Mancini, and Riccardo Calafiori have all recovered from minor injuries to be included in the squad.

However, Gianluca Scamacca is still dealing with an adductor issue, meaning Retegui, Kean, and Esposito will compete for two forward positions.

Bosnia’s manager Sergej Barbarez will likely field a lineup that is familiar, particularly given a limited squad, though young talent Kerim Alajbegovic may find his way into the side.

At 40 years old, Dzeko, who enjoyed fruitful tenures at Inter and Roma, stands as his nation’s all-time top scorer (73), including six goals in this qualifying campaign.

The veteran forward is expected to partner with Ermedin Demirovic in attack, while Serie A defenders Tarik Muharmovic and Sead Kolasinac are well-versed in halting Italian forwards.

Notably absent for the hosts is Sampdoria’s Dennis Hadzikadunic, while Sturm Graz trio Emir Karic, Arjan Malic, and Jusuf Gazibegovic did not make the final squad.

Bosnia-Herzegovina probable starting XI:

Vasilj; Dedic, Muharemovic, Katic, Kolasinac; Memic, Tahirovic, Sunjic, Alajbegovic; Demirovic, Dzeko

Itália probable starting XI:

Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco; Kean, Esposito

With so much on the line and the burden of a nation pressing on both sides, it may take as long as 120 minutes to find a victor in this fiercely contested match.

While neither team has had a favorable history in playoffs, it seems that the revitalized Itália under Gattuso could just manage to pull through this time.