Whereas the evening ended on a bitter notice for Italy, Juventus stalwarts Manuel Locatelli and Federico Gatti did their half in Bosnia.
The Azzurri will skip the World Cup for the third straight time after yet one more play-off heartbreak, this time by the hands of Bosnia.
The Italian started the play-offs on the suitable foot, beating Northern Eire within the semi-finals by two objectives to nil in Bergamo. Nonetheless, they failed to finish the job in Bosnia.
Manuel Locatelli pulled the strings for Italy
Moise Kean gave the guests the lead after quarter-hour, as they seemed to be on their method in direction of punching their ticket to the World Cup finals.
Nonetheless, Gennaro Gattuso’s plans unravelled when Alessandro Bastoni acquired his marching orders for a late deal with whereas being the final defender.
The Azzurri tried to carry on, however Haris Tabakovic ended their resistance within the 79th minute. Bosnia ultimately prevailed within the shootouts 4-1, as Francesco Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante didn’t hit the goal.
Nonetheless, JuventusNews24 identifies Locatelli and Gatti as two of Italy’s greatest performers. The Juventus captain was within the beginning lineup, working as a deep-lying playmaker.
The 28-year-old shielded the backline and had an essential position within the buildup along with his vertical performs.
Locatelli earned a 7/10 score, which is the best amongst Italian gamers alongside Kean and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Federico Gatti placed on shift on the again
Gatti began his outing on the bench, however he got here in simply earlier than half-time when Bastoni was despatched off, changing Mateo Retegui.
The Juventus defender held his personal on the again in opposition to Edin Dzeko and the remainder of the Bosnian attackers, though he couldn’t clear the cross that culminated within the equaliser.
The supply gave the 27-year-old a strong 6.5/10 score, much like Gianluca Mancini, Marco Palestra, Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali.
Italy (3-5-2) : Donnarumma 7; Mancini 6.5, Bastoni 4.5, Calafiori 6; Politano 5 (46′ Palestra 6.5), Barella 6.5 (85′ Frattesi 6), Locatelli 7 (71′ Cristante 5), Tonali 6.5, Dimarco 6 (91′ Spinazzola 6); Kean 7 (71′ Esposito P. 6), Retegui 5.5 (44′ Gatti 6.5).  Coach : Gennaro Gattuso 6
