One of soccer's historic powers has reached a once-unfathomable low.
Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup after getting beat in a penalty shootout with 10 men at 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs on Tuesday.
Moise Kean scored early on for Italy but then Azzurri center back Alessandro Bastoni was sent off with a direct red card before the break and Bosnia substitute Haris Tabakovic equalized in the 79th to send the game into extra time.
The defeat added more misery for Italy's once-proud national team after being eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in the qualifying playoffs for the last two World Cups.
The latest ouster means that the 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 champions will go at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer's biggest event.
Italy's World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed to advance from its group on both occasions. Although the Azzurri did win the European Championship in 2021.
Italy's last World Cup knockout match was when it won the title in 2006 by beating France in a penalty shootout.
The only other World Cup that Italy did not qualify for was in 1958.
Gyokeres the savior for Sweden
Viktor Gyokeres has sent Sweden back to the World Cup.
The Arsenal striker scored in the 88th minute to earn the Swedes a 3-2 win over Poland, five days after netting a hat trick in the playoff semifinal victory over Ukraine.
Poland great Robert Lewandowski, at age 37, was hoping to qualify for what would likely have been his final World Cup.
Former Chelsea and West Ham coach Graham Potter was hired by Sweden last year - initially on a short-term deal - with one goal: to get the team to the World Cup. He has succeeded.
Sweden reached the quarterfinals in its last World Cup appearance, in 2018.
No dream debut for Kosovo
Turkey will be in the United States' group at the World Cup after winning 1-0 at Kosovo to reach soccer's biggest stage for the first time since 2002.
The hosts were hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time, fewer than 10 years since the national team was out of the international soccer family.
It was in May 2016 that Kosovo and Gibraltar were voted into FIFA as its 210th and 211th member federations. That was eight years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
Kosovo had the best chance of an entertaining first half but Turkey goalkeeper Uurcan Çakr pulled off a superb one-handed save to push Fisnik Asllani's strike onto the crossbar.
Turkey got the breakthrough eight minutes into the second half. Kerem Aktürkolu got finest of touches to ensure Orkun Kökçü's cross-shot went into the far bottom corner.
Turkey joins the U.S. in Group D, along with Paraguay and Australia.