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At a Glance:<\/p>\n
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori played the full 120 minutes as Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties on Tuesday night in Zenica, subsequently failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Calafiori helped Gli Azzuri beat Northern Ireland on Thursday, setting up this qualification showdown with Bosnia. Named in Gennaro Gattuso\u2019s starting eleven again, the 23-year-old contributed to a disastrous night for the Italians, which saw them fail to qualify for international football\u2019s showpiece tournament for the third time in a row.<\/p>\n
Moise Kean gave Italy the lead early on, expertly curling beyond Nikola Vailj after a mistake from the home team\u2019s defence. The game then turned shortly before half-time when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for bringing down Amar Memic.<\/p>\n
Bosnia equalised through Haris Tabakovic\u2019s tap-in late in the second half, before the Eastern European side secured their place in North America by winning the shootout.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: Riccardo Calafiori will get a break this summer as he will not be at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Italy are out. pic.twitter.com\/Tb7HJV4mLP<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Italian media react to Riccardo Calafiori\u2019s performance vs Bosnia<\/h2>\n
Calafiori has been excellent this season for Arsenal, although Piero Hincapie has seemingly leapfrogged the Italian in the pecking order in recent months. The former Bologna man\u2019s inability to remain fit and available has cost him, and playing 210 minutes in the space of a few days won\u2019t have been ideal preparation for him ahead of the run-in.<\/p>\n
Not only will these minutes take their toll on him physically, but the emotional exhaustion caused by this significant upset could affect him psychologically. Italy\u2019s media was, unsurprisingly, not forgiving of Calafiori and his teammates.<\/p>\n
The Gazzettino<\/a> awarded Calafiori a 5\/10, writing: \u201cAlways great to watch, but in games like this, he needs that extra bit of grit that sometimes seems to be lacking. He struggles when the game becomes a bullfight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sports newspaper<\/a> also weren\u2019t impressed with the Arsenal defender, handing him a 5.5 out of ten.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few slip-ups: he faces problems and can\u2019t perform as he should,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
Elswehere, Football Market<\/a> argued that the game didn\u2019t suit Calafiori\u2019s rambunctious style: \u201cToday isn\u2019t the game for overlapping and pushing. It was a tough, complex match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riccardo Calafiori\u2019s statistics vs Bosnia<\/h2>\n
The consensus on Calafiori\u2019s performance may have been somewhat harsh. While Italian media weren\u2019t likely to praise any of Gattuso\u2019s players after such a disastrous night, the defenders largely did their job, barring Bastoni.<\/p>\n
Italy played with ten men for over 75 minutes, with Kean their only real out-ball. Thus, it was a matter of sitting deep, defending and looking to keep hold of the lead that they had for much of the game.<\/p>\n
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