On Tuesday, March 31st, Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Italy in a penalty shootout (4-1) after the match ended in a 1-1 draw in regulation time, resulting in Italy being eliminated from the 2026 World Cup playoffs.
The defeat not only cost the Azzurri a third consecutive World Cup appearance, but also sparked a wave of criticism against the team’s goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was cited as one of the main culprits for the Nazionale’s recent failures.
Jigio, in front of the storm
With his absence in 2026, the Italian national team has not been eligible to play in the World Cup for 12 years, and it has been 20 years since the Italian team has not been able to play in a single final round of the World Cup. This is an unprecedented situation for a champion.
But for many, beyond Donnarumma’s performances (which included some great saves and plays during the match), they were overshadowed by bizarre sequences.
When Pio Esposito took Italy’s first penalty, Gigio was fiddling with a piece of paper held by opposing goalkeeper Nicola Vasili with the names of all Italy’s forwards and their kickers. Immediately afterwards, the paper was destroyed and, upon realizing this, Vasili became furious and lunged at Donnarumma, demanding that referee Clement Turpin intervene and separate the two.
Man City’s current goalkeeper, who had already received a yellow card, did not receive an additional penalty that could have given him a red card at the most crucial moment of the match. However, even after the match, Donnarumma got into an argument with Edin Desko.
Although this behavior was considered unsportsmanlike and did not affect the result, it certainly affected fans, analysts, and the press.
“This man is a disgrace to the world of football. Donnarumma’s unprecedented and unfair action in the penalty shootout!” said Bosnia and Herzegovina’s largest sports website SportsSport (via GOAL).
Fans also shared their thoughts on X, especially after the 27-year-old goalkeeper posted a message on Instagram saying he “kept crying” after being eliminated. And while some expressed support at this point, others commented:
“Crying on IG won’t get Italy to the World Cup. Is this passion or just PR damage control?” one of them said.
“Imagine calling yourself a leader while the nation is watching a tournament on the couch for the third time in a row. It’s embarrassing,” another user commented.
“Four years from now, this message will be repeated,” a third user predicted.
Moise Kean’s goal initially appeared to take control, but Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the 41st minute changed the game. Bosnia equalized late on with a goal from Haris Tabakovic in the 79th minute, becoming more effective shooting from the penalty spot and converting all their penalties.
But beyond the loss and altercation between Donnarumma and Vasili, this defeat also exposed the structural crisis that had already cost them World Cup qualification in 2018 and 2022, and missed out on making it past the group stages in 2010 and 2014.
