Italy took the lead in 15'. Nikola Vasilj cleared a ball that reached Nicolò Barella, who then assisted for Moise Kean. The Italy forward struck from the edge of the box and placed it precisely into the top right corner of Vasilj’s goal. In the very next attack, Edin Džeko crossed and Nikola Katić headed wide. In 20', after a corner by Esmir Bajraktarević, Ivan Bašić struck well from around 16 meters, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a safe save. Five minutes later, Mateo Retegui tried his luck, but Vasilj was up to the task. In 38', BiH—Bajraktarević delivered a good cross, and Ermedin Demirović headed wide. Italy was reduced to ten men in 42', as Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for a foul on Amar Memić as the last defender. From the resulting free kick, Bajraktarević crossed, but Donnarumma stopped Katić’s header from seven to eight meters. The last chance of the first half came to Amar Memić after a cross by Ivan Bašić, but his header also went wide.
The Dragons continued to play openly in the second half, and just two minutes in Demirović narrowly missed connecting with a cross from Memić. In 51', Kerim Alajbegović made an attempt, but Donnarumma saved again. In 60', Kean could’ve doubled Italy’s lead, going one-on-one with Vasilj, but he shot over the bar. Donnarumma continued his run of strong saves in 73', denying Benjamin Tahirović. After the corner, Katić headed wide. A minute later, Pio Esposito shot over from the edge of the box. Federico Dimarco had a good chance in 74'. The equalizer for our team came in 79 following a scramble in the box, when Haris Tabaković sent the ball into the net.
In the first minute of added time in extra time, Vasilj saved a header from Esposito. In 119', Benjamin Tahirović struck well from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball went just past the right post.
In the penalty shootout for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tahirović, Tabaković, Alajbegović, and Bajraktarević converted, while for Italy only Tonali scored.
At the World Cup, our national team will play in Group B with Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland.
