Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina live score: World Cup playoff result, stats as Azzurri lead but Bastoni is sent off

Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina live score: World Cup playoff result, stats as Azzurri lead but Bastoni is sent off originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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• Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy score
• Match stats
• Commentary and highlights
• Starting lineups and team news

Sweden 2018… North Macedonia 2022… Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026?

After two consecutive playoff humiliations, Italy travel to Zenica looking to reach their first World Cup since the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Gennaro Gattuso’s side were laboured at times before getting the job done in the semifinals of this UEFA playoff path with a 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland in Bergamo.

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured a home playoff after beating Wales on penalties and also last featured at the finals in 2014. Veteran captain Edin Dzeko was on target in Cardiff, and the former Roma and Inter Milan striker would dearly love to feature on the biggest stage one last time.

MORE:Get a full look at all the World Cup playoff brackets here

Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina score

Location: Bilino Polje (Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)

Starting lineups:

Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-4-2, right to left): 1. Vasilj — 7. Dedic, 4. Muharemovic, 18. Katic, 32. Kolasinac (19. Alajbegovic) — 20. Bajraktarevic, 13, Basic, 14. Sunjic (6. Tahirovic), 15. Memic — 10. Demirovic, 11. Dzeko

Italy (3-5-2, right to left): 1. Donnarumma (GK) — 23. Mancini, 21. Bastoni, 13. Calafiori — 7. Politano (2. Palestra), 18. Barella, 5. Locatelli, 8. Tonali, 3. Dimarco — 11. Kean, 9. Retegui (19. Gatti)

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Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina updates, highlights from World Cup playoff

67 mins: Gatti up above Dzeko for another nerveless clearance. He’s been superb since being thrown into a crisis.

61 mins: Bajraktarevic with a fairly tame shot that Donnarumma can tumble onto and take his time. There’ll be another storm to come, for sure. But Italy look to have weathered the early second-half one.

59 mins: Ohhhh, huge change for Italy and Kean. The lone striker streams through on the break, he’s one against one versus Vasilj. He goes high and clears the crossbar.

57 mins: Mancini carries the ball smartly into Bosnian territory, is brought down by Tahirovic, who was booked a couple of minutes ago. The Italy defender milks it for all it’s worth.

56 mins: Corner taken short to Alajbegovic and he floats it wastefully over everyone.

51 mins:  Nice one-two on the edge of the Italy box before the substitute Gatti blocks Basic’s shot. Bosnia come again And Alajbegovic gets hold of a shot from outside the box. Brilliant Donnarumma save. Italy cannot hang on like this for 40 minutes, surely?

50 mins: Calafiori takes his sweet time over a throw-in. Understandable in the circumstances but it might be a little early to be so obviously killing the clock. Do 10-man Italy want tonnes of additional time?

47 mins: Ohhhh that’s a beauty of a ball in from the right by Memic, but Demirovic can’t make contact! The forward stooped to make contact under pressure from Mancini. If he had, it was surely 1-1.

Kickoff: 2nd Half

The teams are back and there are two attacking changes for the hosts. Teenage sensation Alajbegovic is coming on, as is Tahirovic. Kolasinac and Sunjic make way. For Italy, Palestra replaces the more attack-minded Politano at right wing-back.

Halftime

Well, well, well. That’s been a half of football. Kean pounced upon Vasilj’s error to continue his rich run of international form and put Italy ahead. That might have to be the goal that does it for them after Bastoni’s rash red card. Bosnia probably deserve to be level, on the balance of play, and we can expect the mother of all onslaughts with their man advantage.

44 mins: There’s been a lot of too-ing and fro-ing. Gatti is on for Retegui to restore Italy’s three-man backline. Katic gets up to the eventual set piece and Donnarumma gathers. There will be three minutes of added time.

41 mins: BASTONI RED CARD! ITALY DOWN TO 10 MEN! Oh my, drama here! Bastoni has just put Italy’s World Cup hopes in all sort of peril. Memic was surging through as Donnarumma’s goal kick was headed straight back towads the Italy goal. The Inter defender lunged in, he was the last man and he had to go.

Another look at Bastoni’s red card that puts Italy down a man with just over 45 minutes to play 🇮🇹👀 pic.twitter.com/NLqNAMWGlb

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2026

38 mins: Dzeko involved in a rumbling Bosnia move. Bajraktarevic curls in the cross from the right-hand corner of the box, Demirovic gets up and glances just wide.

35 mins: Raking ball forward from Bosnia and Memic gets on the end of it, heading over. Now the offside flag goes up. Nice idea, though.

32 mins: Barella smartly draws a foul in midfield. Italy have belatedly taken the sting out of things. They could still be getting the Inter Milan star and their other ball-playing midfielders in possession a lot more, though.

24 mins: An Italy defender gets up above Dzeko and half-clears. The ball comes back in and Katic is unmarked at the far post. He can’t get enough power on the header and Donnarumma gathers, but it’s another warning sign.

23 mins: More Bosnia pressure. Memic’s shot deflects off Locatelli and it’ll be another corner.

20 mins: Oh my, big Donnarumma save! The corner is cleared to the right-hand edge of the box, where Basic absolutely clatters the shot. Italy’s skipper gets his big frame in the way. That was travelling.

19 mins: Bosnia have responded well to that setback and have asked a few questions of their opponents. Italy have, in a very un-Italian but very Gattuso way, contributed to the game becoming more frantic the goal. Calafiori heads behind and the hosts have a corner.

15 mins: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Moise Kean!!!!!

Oh, it’s a nightmare for Vasilj, who duffs his clearance straight to Barella. He slips a pass to Kean, who dispatches a sublime first-time finish into the top corner. That oozed confidence from the Fiorentina man.

MOISE KEAN GIVES ITALY THE LEAD OVER BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/isVmndd3jO

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2026

13 mins: Corner to Italy on the right. Tonali… ploughs it into the side-netting. Given the Azzurri haven’t really been able to get going yet, that’s just so wasteful.

9 mins: Ooof, Locatelli gets to a loose ball and Sunjic steams into a hard but fair tackle. Bosnia are right up for this. You sense they might need to harness this early momentum and get a lead.

7 mins: Demirovic, who missed his penalty against Wales, gets a shot off from outside the box that Donnarumma gets behind. The turf appeared to cut up horribly beneath his boot when he too the shot. The pitch looks…mossy. One to keep an eye on.

4 mins: Donnarumma comes for the corner and gets a meaty punch on it to clear the danger.

3 mins: Sharp lay-off from Dzekom Bajraktarevic’s shot is blocked. Bosnia pile forward to pick up the scraps, Memic drills across goal and Calafiori is forced to scramble behind. The atmosphere is electric.

2 mins: Kean with a first chance to stretch his legs for Italy. He finds Politano on the left but the wing-back scuffs his cross.

Kickoff: 1st Half

Off we go, then. Muharemovic looks to pump a ball forward that’s intercepted. Bosnia seem keen on a fast tempo.

2 mins before kickoff: There’s an apartment block overlooking one end of the stadium, which has a roofless grandstand. Residents and fans in the apartments have let off a load of flares out of the windows. Imagine being the neighbour who doesn’t much like football.

Esto es una locura.

🇧🇦🇮🇹@marcapic.twitter.com/9frbQYinYV

— Irati Prat (@IratiPratSC) March 31, 2026

5 mins before kickoff: The players are in a very compact tunnel. Captains Donnarumma and Dzeko share a joke before the serious business gets underway. Here they come. Which team will end their 12-year wait? A warm embrace between the two head coaches before the national anthems.

40 mins before kickoff: Here’s the Italy team bus arriving at Bilino Polje. Home advantage could be key for Bosnia tonight.

The Italians arrive at Stadium Bilino Polje. #BIHITA 🇧🇦🇮🇹 🎥: https://t.co/nlKCqfWp6Dpic.twitter.com/BP99GK8PN6

— Bosnian Football (@BosniaNTBall) March 31, 2026

1 hour before kickoff: And this is how the Bosnia team looks. It’ll be the hosts’ 4-4-2 against Gattuso’s 3-5-2.

🇧🇦🆚🇮🇹 Još sat i 20 minuta do početka utakmice – do velikog finala.

Selektor Sergej Barbarez izabrao je 11 Zmajeva koji će večeras početi utakmicu.

💙💛Sretno Zmajevi! 🐉Nikad sama nisi ti…#NFSBiH#zmajevi#europeanqualifiers#worldcup2026qualifiers#dreambigdreambihpic.twitter.com/QAPi17TTOD

— NFS BIH (@NFSBiH) March 31, 2026

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in. Italy are unchanged from the Northern Ireland game.

Gattuso names his XI for our World Cup play-off final 💪📋#Azzurri#VivoAzzurro#BIHITApic.twitter.com/QfgOWW3hOc

— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) March 31, 2026

1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: It’s wild to think that the last time either of these sides featured at a World Cup was 2014. Both failed to make it past the group stage as well; Bosnia on their first ever appearance at the tournament and Italy maintaining an unbroken run of featuring at ever World Cup from 1962.

2 hours to kickoff: It wasn’t particularly pretty, but Italy got past Northern Ireland to book this final showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the World Cup. Bosnia beat Wales on penalties after a late penalty from their veteran captain Edin Dzeko and have home advantage. It might not take much to set Azzurri nerves jangling after missing out on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. It can’t happen to the four-time winner again… can it?

MORE WORLD CUP NEWS:

• Updated World Cup playoffs bracket
• Italy’s timeline of missed World Cups misery
• How do the World Cup playoffs work?
• Who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup?

Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina kick off time

This UEFA World Cup playoff final match kicks off at Bilino Polje on Tuesday, March 31 at 8:45 p.m. local time in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe

Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina lineups, team news

Bosnia boss Sergej Barbarez has the opportunity to stick with a settled line-up.

Edin Dzeko, now 40, was substituted after regulation time against Wales and should be ready to go again up front alongside Ermedin Demirovic.

Ivan Basic gets the nod over Benjamin Tahirovic having replaced his fellow midfielder after the hour in Cardiff

Bosnia and Herzegovina starting lineup (4-4-2): Vasilj — Dedic, Muharemovic, Katic, Kolasinac — Bajraktare, Basic, Sunjic, Memic — Demirovic, Dzeko

Bosnia and Herzegovina subs:Hadzikic (GK), Zlomislic (GK), Celik, Tahirovic, Gigovic, Bazdar, Hadziahmetovic, Burnic, Alajbegovic, Radeljic, Tabakovic

Gennaro Gattuso could stick with the same XI that faced Northern Ireland, although towering Inter Milan youngster Pio Esposito could nudge Mateo Retegui out of the starting XI. 

Fellow striker Gianluca Scamacca is still struggling with an adductor problem

Italy starting lineup (3-5-2): Donnarumma (GK) — Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori — Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco — Kean, Retegui

Italy subs:Carnesecchi (GK), Meret (GK), Palestra, Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Raspadori, Pisilli, Esposito, Cristante, Frattesi, Gatti, Cambiaso

Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions: