March 29 (Reuters) - Bosnia and Italy meet in a World Cup playoff on Tuesday with both sides aiming to end a 12-year finals absence and erase memories of playoff heartbreak, in a fixture that rekindles memories of Bosnia's first international win.
The possibility of four-time champions Italy missing a third consecutive World Cup has already grabbed the headlines, and their last participation in 2014 coincided with Bosnia's sole appearance on football's biggest stage.
Italy fell at the playoff hurdle for both the 2018 and 2022 editions, while Bosnia's record is equally bleak. They lost at this stage for the 2010 World Cup and have missed out in the playoffs for the last four European Championships.
The meeting also carries historical weight for Bosnia, whose first victory as an independent nation came against Italy nearly 30 years ago.
Bosnian players featured at World Cups as far back as 1950 as part of the former Yugoslavia, and although the country declared independence in 1992, Bosnia had to wait until 1996 to gain official FIFA membership.
Bosnia's first qualification campaign began that year for the 1998 World Cup, but the first game to take place after the Bosnian War in the capital Sarajevo was a friendly against Italy in November 1996.
Italy were the first national team to play in a city still emerging from the 1992–95 siege during the war, sending a message to the world that Sarajevo was a safe place to host international football.
The game, Bosnia's fifth official international, kicked off in the early afternoon as the Kosevo Olympic Stadium did not yet have working floodlights, with 40,000 fans in attendance and the match broadcast live on Italian television.
"It hardly needs saying that the significance of this match goes far beyond the sporting and football occasion itself," RAI commentator Bruno Pizzul said as the game began.
Bosnia won 2-1 to deliver the country's first victory, marking their arrival on the international stage, while Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi resigned in the wake of his side's defeat.
HIGH STAKES IN PRESSURE PLAYOFF
Three decades on, the stakes are very different. Another Italy loss would bring further turmoil to a proud football nation under intense pressure to perform and halt a decline stretching back to their World Cup triumph 20 years ago.
Italy's two heavy defeats to Norway in qualifying meant another playoff, and after seeing off Northern Ireland at home on Thursday, Tuesday's game in Zenica could finally bring an end to their World Cup exile.
Bosnia also finished second in their qualifying group, losing one game to Austria, and a penalty shootout win over Wales in their playoff semi-final gives them the chance to reach the finals for the second time.
Weather conditions forced Italy into a late change of plan. Snow fell in Zenica on Saturday, and, with rain following on Sunday, concerns over pitch conditions mean that Gennaro Gattuso's side will train at their home base of Coverciano on Monday morning.
There will also be a reduced capacity at the Bilino Polje Stadium owing to FIFA disciplinary sanctions imposed following incidents at Bosnia's last home game against Romania in November.
Despite the smaller crowd, and the weather, a fiery atmosphere awaits in Zenica for a winner-takes-all clash that will end one nation's wait for a World Cup return.
(Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Toby Davis)
