There are many things to say after this Bosnia-Italy. In terms of play and refereeing decisions, the match offers many aspects to analyze. But an incident of play, during the penalty shootout, went more unnoticed.
According to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri, Gianluigi Donnarumma had his “cheat sheet” stolen by the Bosnian goalkeeper, this sheet where the transalpine staff analyzed the habits of opposing shooters. This would have led to a small argument between the two players, after the first shot on goal.
On this sheet, we can see information on several Bosnians. Their strong foot (“SX” for left-handed, “DX” for right-handed), and their usual way of shooting: “Chiuso” for closed foot, “Aperto” for open foot.
Donnarumma wasn’t that far away, but…
It should be noted that Donnarumma and Italy had no information on the first shooter, Tahirovic, who wrong-footed the former Parisian. Then, “Gigio” went the right way on Tabakovic’s shot, but it, in the top corner, was impossible to stop.
Despite this “stealing” of the sheet, Donnarumma started from the intended side each time. On the third shooter, Alajbegovic, Italy expected a shot on the open side, but the word “Guarda” was added, undoubtedly to indicate to the transalpine goalkeeper not to throw himself too quickly to his left. Finally, Alajbegovic, after a few body feints in his run-up, surprised Donnarumma by closing his foot at the last moment to shoot left.
Finally, the information was good for Bajraktarevic, the left-hander, who kept his foot closed to hit with force. Donnarumma started on the right side, but was too short to stop the decisive attempt that sent Bosnia to the World Cup.
