Dragons after penalty shootout in the World Cup qualifying playoff final!

(Patria) - The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina has qualified for the World Cup qualifying playoff final!

The Dragons tonight in the semi-final played in Cardiff defeated the host selection of Wales after a penalty shootout. In regular time, the score was 1:1, and after penalties 4:2.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will host Italy in the playoff final at Zenica's Bilino Polje stadium on Tuesday, March 31. Italy eliminated Northern Ireland tonight in Bergamo with a 2:0 victory in the other semi-final.

But let's go in order.

Coach Sergej Barbarez started the match with the expected lineup. Tahirović was in the starting eleven, while Džeko and Demirović led the attack.

From the start of the match, the Welsh were more aggressive and ran more. The Dragons ceded possession to the opponent, which was not particularly dangerous in the opening stages, writes Faktor.



The first big chance came in the 22nd minute when the in-form Wilson shot well with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area and hit the post.

Throughout the rest of the first half, Wales had the territorial initiative and clearly stood better on the field, while the Dragons' focus was primarily on defense.

It should also be noted that the Romanian referee István Kovács showed as many as three yellow cards to BiH players in the first half: Memić, Demirović, and Kolašinac.

In the final moments of the first half, Dedić had an opportunity to threaten, but he shot over the goal. The teams went into halftime with no goals.



The second half started poorly for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tahirović played a weak back pass, the ball reached James, who scored past Vasilj with an excellent shot from the edge of the penalty area. This happened in the 51st minute.

The conceded goal forced the Dragons to open up, and eight minutes later, James could have scored another goal for the hosts, but he hit the crossbar.

Barbarez brought Bašić and Alajbegović into the game, and in the 62nd minute, Demirović missed a colossal chance, his header miraculously saved by Darlow.



A controversial situation occurred in the 70th minute when Cullen fouled Demirović with an open sole and only received a yellow card. In the 72nd minute, Alajbegović threatened, and Darlow was again at his best.

Another huge chance for BiH came in the 76th minute when Bajraktarević crossed from the left, and Demirović at the far post couldn't reach the ball.

In the final minutes of the match, Tabaković also came on, and the Dragons went all out in attack. The deserved equalizer came in the 86th minute when Džeko scored after Alajbegović's corner kick.

40 years old Eden Dzeko scores for Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦! Wales are level, they should have taken the opportunities earlier 🙄! #WALBIH
pic.twitter.com/FwGKOzNmx8

— The Final Whistle (@Rufus_45) March 26, 2026

The Bosnian and Herzegovina national team did not falter in the remaining part of regular time and pushed for a win. Deep into added time, Demirović and Alajbegović had chances. The score remained 1:1, and the match went into extra time.

At the start of extra time, there were dangerous situations on both sides. Bajraktarević shot poorly for BiH, and on the other side, Wilson's header was blocked by Muharemović.

In the 101st minute, another good situation for BiH, Alajbegović did everything well, but Demirović's shot was blocked. The score remained unchanged after the first period of extra time.

Džeko received a yellow card in the 110th minute, even though he was on the bench. The reason was an argument with Bellamy because the Welsh behaved unsportingly and did not return the ball after Katić sent it out of bounds due to Dedić's injury.



In the remainder of the second period of extra time, Wales pressed, but the BiH defense held on, leading to a penalty shootout.

It started poorly for our team - Darlow immediately saved Demirović's shot, and Wilson scored for Wales.

Tabaković then scored, as did Harris. Bašić also found the net, while Johnson missed the entire goal! The score is tied after the third round - 2:2.

Hadžiahmetović then executed his penalty brilliantly, and then Vasilj saved Williams' shot!



Alajbegović then sent us to the playoff final against Italy! What drama, what a victory for the Dragons!

Everyone to Zenica on March 31. Let's go for the World Cup!