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Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy: World Cup playoff goes to penalties – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
Key events
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 Italy. Bajraktarević aims for the bottom right … and though Donnarumma guesses correctly, and gets a hand to it, the ball squirts in! Bosnia and Herzegovina are going to the 2026 World Cup!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Italy. Now it’s Cristante for Italy. Another must-score. But he clatters a rising shot down the middle off the underside of the bar, and back out! Italy on the brink! Yet again!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Italy. Alajbegović, 18, steps up. Bottom left. Donnarumma the wrong way. Cool as. He’s 18!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 Italy. Tonali whistles a fine spot kick into the bottom left. How Italy needed that.
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 Italy. Tabaković, whose equaliser took us all here, is up next for the hosts. One step, two steps, and a sweep into the top right. Donnarumma went the right way, but had no chance!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Italy. Esposito first for the Azzurri. He does the tippy-toes … then skies it. Advantage Bosnia and Herzegovina!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Italy. Tahirović up first. He whips a perfect penalty into the bottom left, having sent Donnarumma the wrong way.
Sergej Barbarez and Gennaro Gattuso embrace. That’s nice to see, ahead of certain heartbreak for one of them. Fireworks explode in the background, a constant rhythm as both teams prepare to meet their fate. Bosnia and Herzegovina to go first.
Bosnia and Herzegovina aren’t happy about the referee whistling before one last free kick could be launched into the Italian box. But there were only about two seconds remaining anyway. However, that’s the least of their concerns, because Dzeko landed awkwardly after that Frattesi challenge, and he’s really hurt his shoulder. He stays down for some time, before finally getting back up. But he’s holding it gingerly. An ice pack on it now. An unwelcome extra twist for the hosts.
FULL TIME, EXTRA TIME: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Italy
Nope! The whistle goes before the free kick can be taken. Penalties it is!
ET 30 min +1: A long ball into the Italian half. Donnarumma comes miles out of his box to kick clear. Dzeko dribbles back into Italian territory. Frattesi unceremoniously takes him out. Yellow card. Time for one last free kick, launched into the Italian mixer?
ET 30 min: Sixty seconds between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, and penalties.
ET 29 min: … the ball’s worked back to Tahirović, on the edge of the D. He threads a shot inches wide of the right-hand post. Not sure Donnarumma was getting to that! That’s Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 30th attempt on goal. Italy have taken nine.
ET 28 min: Esposito clears the corner. But the hosts come straight back at Italy, Burnić released into acres down the left. His low cross is hooked out by Mancini. That had to happen, because Dzeko was waiting in the middle, six yards out. Then from the corner …
ET 27 min: Burnić crosses poorly from the left. Cristante’s clearance is no good, and Burnić gets another go. His low cross this time forces Mancini into the concession of a corner.
ET 25 min: Demirović is replaced by Hadžiahmetović, a defensive move by the hosts. Nobody wants to fall at the final hurdle now.
ET 24 min: Tonali zips down the left flank and is crudely flipped into the air by Katic’s sliding challenge. That’s cynical, late, and worthy of the booking Katic receives.
ET 23 min: Frattesi eventually gets back up. Then there’s some nonsense before the corner. Then after it’s finally taken, and half-cleared, Alajbegović dribbles a poor shot straight at Donnarumma, and the pressure on Italy is released. For a moment.
ET 21 min: Alajbegović batters a shot into Frattesi’s back. Then Burnic deflects the ball off the same white shirt. It goes out for a corner. Before it can be taken, Frattesi goes down to catch a breath.
ET 19 min: Bajraktarević whips a vicious cross in from the right. Dzeko, under surveillance from Mancini, can’t get to the ball at the far stick. Goal kick. The tension is almost unbearable. Goodness knows what it feels like if you support one of these sides.
ET 17 min: Dedic crosses from the right. Bajraktarević attempts a scissor kick that goes wide. Italy counter, and Esposito spins into space on the edge of the box. His low shot is deflected wide right by Muharemović. Nothing comes of the corner.
ET 16 min: Alajbegović sends a couple of Italians off to the shops for a copy of La Gazzetta dello Sport with a cheeky drop of a shoulder. The cross isn’t all that, though.
Bosnia and Herzegovina get the second half of extra time going. Penalties loom in the middle distance.
“The really, really gutting thing is; Wales could absolutely have beaten this Italy,” sighs Matt Dony. “Ah well. Always next time. Again.”
HALF TIME, EXTRA TIME: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Italy
Italy still fuming over the lack of a red card for Muharemović. Donnarumma spoiling for an argument, and maybe even a fight, with someone in the Bosnia and Herzegovina camp. He’s dragged away before he can make things worse for Italy.
ET 15 min +2: … and nothing comes of the resulting corner. That’s as dangerous as Italy have looked all night.
ET 15 min +1: … sends a low drive witlessly into the wall. But Italy recover the rebound. Palestra skedaddles down the right and crosses long. Esposito rises at the far stick and heads goalwards from a tight angle. But Vasilj parries at point-blank range! What a save!
ET 15 min: The free kick, then, to the right of the D. Tonali stands over it. And …
ET 14 min: Not that the Italian bench is letting it lie quite yet. Performative discussions continue.
ET 13 min: Nope. Muharemović is spared. Just a yellow, due to Burnic being right next to the incident. Italy aren’t happy, as you can imagine. But that decision is going to stand.
ET 12 min: Tonali goes long. A sweet pass down the middle. Palestra gets in between, and ahead of, both Muharemović and Burnic. Muharemović extends a leg and clips his man. A free kick … and a sending off?
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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