Italy Misses Third Straight World Cup After Bosnia Loss

Narrative B

Bosnia pulled off one of soccer's great upsets, outcompeting a squad worth nearly seven times more and silencing a nation of 60 million with a perfect penalty shootout. Italy's players crumbled under pressure, missing spot kicks when it mattered most, while Bosnia converted every single one. The Azzurri had every structural advantage and still lost — that's not a mismatch problem, that's a mentality problem.