Overview
- The playoff in Zenica, which kicks off Tuesday at 19:45 BST, sends the winner to the 2026 World Cup in Group B with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
- Snow and rain in Zenica led officials to protect the surface with pitch heaters, and UEFA asked Italy to skip training on it as the squad stayed at Coverciano and delayed travel to Monday.
- Sky Sport Italia reports Gennaro Gattuso plans to stick with the same starters, with Mateo Retegui over Pio Esposito and Matteo Politano preferred, as Alessandro Bastoni trains and Gianluca Scamacca rejoins the group after a muscle issue.
- A Rai clip of Italy players celebrating Bosnia’s semifinal win drew rebukes in Bosnia, and Federico Dimarco said it was an instinctive reaction and not disrespect as Miralem Pjanic promised an “infernal” atmosphere.
- FIFA cut Bilino Polje’s capacity by 2,100 seats after prior incidents, leaving only 500 tickets for Italy’s away end in a ground where fans are close to the pitch.