Key events
10 min: Italy settle things down a bit with some old-school passing around the back. Nice and patient, in the 1960s style.
8 min: Tonali sends a flat, fast cross in from the left. Retegui tries to flick a header on, ten yards out, but can’t connect properly. The hosts counter, Dzeko looping a ball down the left for Memic to chase. Barella comes across to usher the ball out for a throw. Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Sergej Barbarez suggests there was a naughty high-kick aimed at his player, but nobody else seems to mind.
7 min: Demirović picks up possession in the centre circle and is allowed to make his way down the inside-right channel, to the edge of the box. He has a dig. It’s straight at Donnarumma, who gathers. Not sure where the Italian midfield was there.
5 min: … and as a result, Italy’s coach is already on the touchline, palms down, the international gesture for Settle Down. “All eyes, then, on Gattuso as his players succeed or fail,” begins Charles Antaki. “Never blessed with classic Italian good looks, dear old Gennaro has filled out a bit since his prime years with Milan, and his slightly frog-like outline now makes you worry whether the tension might make him puff up and burst. Much to play for.”
4 min: Dzeko makes a nuisance of himself on the edge of the Italian box. He feeds Dedic on the left. A low cross is hacked clear by Calafiori … but straight into Locatelli and back out for a corner! That rebound could have gone absolutely anywhere. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Italy’s defence was all over the shop during that build-up.
2 min: Dimarco goes long for Kean, who cushions down for Tonali. The ball’s slipped wide right to Politano, one of Italy’s better performers against Northern Ireland. But his cross hits the first man. The hosts clear their lines.
Bosnia and Herzegovina get the ball rolling! Calafiori and Dedic immediately run into each other in slapstick style. Onwards and upwards.
Here come the teams! A fine atmosphere at the Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica, even if one stand is unpopulated. An intimate feel, exactly what Bosnia & Herzegovina were after. Coaches Sergej Barbarez and Gennaro Gattuso embrace warmly. Then the anthems: Italy roar theirs emotionally; the hosts listen, stock still, with hands on hearts. This means everything to everyone. Off in a minute!
As if there wasn’t enough pressure on Italy tonight, a couple of their players were caught on camera jigging around in delight when Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Wales on penalties. Guglielmo Vicario and Federico Dimarco the guilty parties. A slight that will no doubt be mentioned in the home side’s pre-match team-talk. “I don’t know why Italy preferred not to play in Wales,” wondered Edin Džeko. “We went there without fear and won. If Italy are afraid to play in Wales, something isn’t right.” Bear poked, seeds sown, gauntlet down.
Gatusso has tried to play down the controversy. “Despite what happened the other day, we know the truth of the matter is there isn’t a difference between Wales and Bosnia,” he insisted. “It’s honestly not a cliché to admit this is a tough match and we respect them.”
This promises to be good fun.
Pre-match postbag. “Bosnia play in Zenica, not the capital Sarajevo where there is a far bigger stadium, as it tends to rattle visiting teams. I saw them hold Portugal to a very creditable 0-0 in a Nov 2011 Euro qualifier first leg, despite Ronaldo hitting the bar in the last minute. Maybe the ground got to the visitors: however, they tonked them 6-2 in the second leg. No second leg tonight though” – Bob Kurac
“Isn’t Signor Gattuso married to a Scottish woman? Should his charges fail to qualify tonight, he will face a hard summer of watching the other team in blue go into battle to the cheers of his other half. Even if the jibes and banter will inevitably stop after three games” – Justin Kavanagh
Kit Watch. Bosnia and Herzegovina get first-kit dibs as the home side, so they’re playing in their blue shirts with yellow trim …
… and so the Azzurri are forced into second-choice white. Italy have always cut a dash in white shirts – see also Enzo Bearzot’s beyond-stylish sports jacket at the 1982 World Cup – so no complaints there. But there’s something slightly off about that redesigned shield. Not pointy enough at the bottom. Italy wearing adidas doesn’t sit right either. Come back, Diadora, make the world right again.
Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Sergej Barbarez makes one change to the side that started in Cardiff, replacing Benjamin Tahirović with Ivan Bašić in midfield. Sead Kolašinac, an injury concern after picking up a knock, starts in defence. Former Manchester City striker Edin Džeko, 40, leads their attack.
Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso names exactly the same starting XI. He’ll be keeping his fingers crossed that Sandro Tonali, who will set the tone in midfield, can last the full 90.
The teams
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vasilj, Dedic, Muharemovic, Katic, Kolasinac, Bajraktarevic, Sunjic, Basic, Memic, Demirovic, Dzeko.
Subs: Hadzikic, Zlomislic, Mujakic, Celik, Tahirovic, Tabakovic, Radeljic, Alajbegovic, Burnic, Hadziahmetovic, Bazdar, Gigovic.
Italy: Donnarumma, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori, Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco, Kean, Retegui.
Subs: Carnesecchi, Meret, Palestra, Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Raspadori, Pisilli, Esposito, Cristante, Frattesi, Gatti, Cambiaso.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
Preamble
Boznia and Herzegovina want to get to the 2026 World Cup finals just as much as Italy. But we don’t write the rules, and this story is all about the Azzurri, who are in danger of becoming the first of the World Cup behemoths to fail to qualify for three tournaments in a row. Uruguay, France, Spain and England have all missed two on the bounce, but a third consecutive failure for a footballing nation of this import would be unprecedented. And no, the pre-total football Dutch don’t count.
Italy weren’t particularly good against Northern Ireland last week. But then neither were Bosnia and Herzegovina as they squeezed past Wales, and the four-time winners have a good record against the men from the Balkan Peninsula. Bosnia and Herzegovina won the first meeting between the countries, in 1996, but since then it’s been pretty much all Italy, with four wins and a draw from the five matches played between 2019 and 2024. So on balance, you’d expect Rino Gattuso’s team to make it to North America this summer … but then most folk thought they’d see off Sweden to get to 2018 and North Macedonia ahead of 2022, and look what happened there. Kick-off is at 7.45pm BST. It’s on!
