Italy's agonizing World Cup exile continues after they fell to a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their playoff final on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw.
Since lifting the trophy in 2006, Italy has won one game at the finals.
Four-time champions Italy had lost out at the playoff stage to miss the last two World Cups, and their last qualification in 2014 coincided with Bosnia's only previous appearance.
On the contrary, Bosnia will play in Group B at the World Cup, joining co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland, while Italy will be left with some serious soul-searching to do after yet another failure.
Bosnia had suffered plenty of playoff heartbreak themselves, missing out on the 2010 World Cup and the last four European Championships, but they came from behind on Tuesday and their keeper did not need to make a save when the shootout came around.
Fans in Rome were left stunned after Italy fell to a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Bosnia on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw, the third playoff defeat in a row after those against Sweden and North Macedonia.
"The World Cup curse," said the front page of Italy's main daily Corriere della Sera, calling for a rebuilding of a movement that produced some of the game's greatest players but has won just one match at the finals since lifting the trophy in 2006.
Headlines on La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, the country's two main sports newspapers, both said "We're all staying at home," in reference to yet another summer without a World Cup for the four-time champions.
"Honestly, I'm shocked," said Davide Caldaretta, who watched the game at a city pub.
"Everything went badly from the start of the match. The team wasn't good; players were out of form coming in and playing (anyway)… it makes no sense.
"Either something is wrong with the youth system or it doesn't make sense," said fan Edoardo Settembre.
Italy went down to 10 men in the 42nd minute with Alessandro Bastoni punished for a late last-man tackle, a key turning point with Italy leading at the time.
"(We feel) really upset and disappointed.
Even when you're let down, you always hold out hope. And this is the third time in a row," said Melanie Cardillo.
Notably, the Balkan team 'Azzurri,' last qualified for the World Cup finals in 2014, which coincided with Bosnia's only previous appearance at the tournament, will now play in Group B, joining co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
