ZENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina, March 31 (Reuters) - Italy's agonising World Cup exile continues after they fell to a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their playoff final on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw.
Four-time champions Italy had lost out at the playoff stage to miss the last two World Cups, and their last qualification in 2014 coincided with Bosnia's only previous appearance. Since lifting the trophy in 2006, Italy have won one game at the finals.
Bosnia will play in Group B at the World Cup, joining co-hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland, while Italy will be left with some serious soul-searching to do after yet another failure.
Bosnia had suffered plenty of playoff heartbreak themselves, missing out on the 2010 World Cup and the last four European Championships, but they came from behind on Tuesday and their keeper did not need to make a save when the shootout came around.
"These boys have a character and we knew they will make us proud," Bosnia manager Sergej Barbarez told reporters.
"These young players have this feeling, they don't think at all, they go to the pitch with brutal calmness."
Italy got off to the perfect start, with Moise Kean putting them ahead in the 15th minute, but had Alessandro Bastoni sent off three minutes before the break to raise the hopes of the home side.
Bosnia levelled 11 minutes from time through Haris Tabakovic and both Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missed their penalties while the hosts made no mistake from the spot to repeat their semi-final shootout win over Wales.
Kerim Alajbegovic came off the bench to net the winning penalty against Wales, and the 18-year-old again showed nerves of steel, converting one of Bosnia's spot kicks against Italy.
"I am so proud that we fought fiercely till the end," he said.
"I knew that I'd score the penalty regardless of who the goalkeeper is. Thanks everybody for being at the stadium, the atmosphere was brutal, we are going now to celebrate."
World Cup qualification was once a mere formality for Italy -- their only previous absence before this barren spell came in 1958 -- but they are now the only tournament winners to miss out on three successive finals.
"Italian children will see another World Cup without Italy," tearful winger Leonardo Spinazzola told RAI.
"I still can't believe that we went out like this, after playing with 10 men. With grit, we took it to penalties, we could have scored three or four goals and it's really a great disappointment for everyone."
The expected cagey affair never materialised, with a frantic start and the pace rarely letting up in an enthralling game in Zenica.
A poor attempted pass out from Bosnia keeper Nikola Vasilj allowed Italy to take the lead.
The wayward ball fell to Nicolo Barella and he laid it off to Kean who met the pass with a splendid first-time shot from outside the area which sailed into the top corner for his eighth goal in his last six games for Italy.
Bosnia came surging forward, with Gianluigi Donnarumma stretching to parry away a powerful effort from Ivan Basic and the keeper then saved Nikola Katic's header.
TURNING POINT
Italy went down to 10 men in the 42nd minute with Bastoni punished for a late last-man tackle as Amir Memic raced towards goal and Bosnia continued to create plenty of chances.
Donnarumma got down well to palm away Benjamin Tahirovic's shot but was eventually beaten when Tabakovic, who had been on the pitch for seven minutes, pounced to net a rebound after the keeper had kept out Edin Dzeko's header.
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso prowled the sidelines throughout it all, looking for all the world like a man with the weight of a nation's hopes and expectations on his shoulders.
Dzeko was injured right at the end, holding an ice-pack to his shoulder before the coin toss ahead of the shootout, but Bosnia had no need for their 40-year-old all-time top scorer.
Esposito blasted Italy's first penalty over and, after Cristante sent his spot kick crashing off the crossbar, Esmir Bajraktarevic completed Bosnia's perfect penalty strike rate to send the Bilino Polje Stadium into wild celebrations.
Flares went off behind the goal as the Bosnian players ran to celebrate while the Italians slumped to the turf, some in tears, as that now familiar sense of disbelief and despair set in.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; editing by Clare Fallon and Toby Davis)
