Dimarco insists Italy respect Bosnia and Herzegovina after celebrating Wales' loss

[p][b]"I respect all clubs and, above all, all national teams. It was an instinctive reaction; we were among friends watching a penalty shoot-out,"[/b] wing-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dimarco-federico/W6lypZn3/"]Dimarco[/a] said at a press conference at Coverciano, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a] team's training centre.[/p][p]Italy will attempt to end their World Cup exile when they meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/a] on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bosnia-herzegovina-fqe7WYTr/italy-hlKvieGH/?mid=2B8dzIX9"]Tuesday in Zenica.[/a][/p][p]Italy, who finished a distant second to Norway in their qualifying group, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/italy-hlKvieGH/northern-ireland-lQADNSWu/?mid=v7ssLzeU"]beat Northern Ireland 2-0[/a] in Atalanta in 90 minutes on Thursday. They then watched the end of the game from Cardiff, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dzeko-edin/zilGmgZq/"]Edin Dzeko[/a] scored a late equaliser to force extra time.[/p][p][b]When the Bosnians won in a penalty shootout, Dimarco, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tonali-sandro/fmQVO5TQ/"]Sandro Tonali[/a] and other Italian players were shown on state broadcaster [i]Rai[/i] celebrating. The reaction was picked up on by their opponents.[/b][/p][embed guid="7fe5aabf-db12-4470-abd5-5c8810d7e7d6" url="https://x.com/BosniaNTBall/status/2037318937281523960" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pjanic-miralem/ObHi3HbL/"]Miralem Pjanic[/a], a former Bosnia international who spent nine seasons in Serie A with Roma and Juventus, made clear his unhappiness when he talked to [i]La Gazzetta dello Sport.[/i][/p][p]"Dimarco and the other Azzurri's joy? Honestly, I don't understand why," he said.[/p][p][b]"We'll have to create a hellish atmosphere for the match. It'll take real character to come away from Zenica with a win."[/b][/p][p]Dimarco, a former teammate of Dzeko's at Inter Milan, said the Bosnians should not take offence.[/p][p][b]"I spoke with Dzeko, a friend, and congratulated him. I repeat, I showed no disrespect to anyone, neither to Bosnia nor to the Bosnians; we are all decent people,"[/b] Dimarco said.[/p][embed guid="74e4a548-5643-49da-b643-61b45feac493" url="https://x.com/Azzurri_En/status/2037506506334113855" social-type="twitter" /][p]Italy did not take part in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, failing on both occasions in the play-offs – against Sweden for the World Cup in Russia and against North Macedonia four years later.[/p][p][b]"I've heard people say we were arrogant. There's really no reason to be, we've missed the last two World Cups,"[/b] Dimarco pointed out.[/p][p][b]"All that upset me, and I think it was a bit disrespectful to have been filmed at that moment,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]"We absolutely want to qualify for this World Cup; we're a group that gets on well together. We're expecting a hostile atmosphere, but we're Italy, and we have to put in a great performance."[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/world/world-cup/"]Follow the World Cup play-offs with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]