As Four-time champions, Italy suffered a humiliating defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in last week’s European qualifying play-off final for the 2026 World Cup, that failed to secure a place in the final for the third consecutive World Cup. However, it turns out there was more to the story than meets the eye regarding Donnarumma’s poor performance in the penalty shootout.
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has a proven track record in penalty shootouts, was incredibly frustrated by his inability to save any of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s penalties.
A 14-year-old Bosnian ball boy named Afan Cizmic revealed on a local television program on Monday (April 6th) that he took Donnarumma’s penalty analysis report during the match.
According to reports, after discovering the report was missing, Donnarumma initially believed it had been stolen by Bosnian goalkeeper Vasili, and angrily yelled at him and complained to the referee, but the report was not found on the field at the time.
Unable to access the report, Gianluigi Donnarumma, a player known for his outstanding penalty shootout performances and who helped Italy defeat England in the 2021 European Championship final, was thrown into disarray. He repeatedly lunged to the same side during the shootout, ultimately failing to make a single save and watching helplessly as Bosnia and Herzegovina won the penalty shootout, qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time since 2014. His team thus became an “outsider” in this most prestigious footballing event for the 12th consecutive year.
Chizmic subsequently publicly admitted to his “theft” and displayed the penalty analysis report on Bosnian television, explaining his “contribution” to the national team’s World Cup qualification.
He said, “I saw something next to the towel and immediately realized what it was. I took it and hid it. It contained all the information about our players. Without that list, Donnarumma could only rely on intuition.” The teenager also said in an interview that he and his father planned to auction off the penalty analysis report and donate the proceeds to humanitarian causes.
Although Zizmic’s actions lacked sportsmanship, he became a hero in the hearts of Bosnian fans, with many even calling on national team coach Barbareez to bring Zizmic to the World Cup as a talisman for the team.
Italy took the lead against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but were equalized after being reduced to 10 men, and ultimately lost 1-4 in a penalty shootout.
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