Italy
The blow had all the ingredients of a hand played poorly under pressure. Italy struck first with Moise Kean
Poker gets in the middle of the 2026 World Cup
But this story also has a poker twist. Bosnia’s coach, Sergej Barbarez -ho-, is no amateur when it comes to playing heavy chips. In addition to his football career, he has very real background on the circuit: at the 2017 WSOP he made a deep run in Event #41 of Pot-Limit Omaha and finished in 8° place for US$21.172. His WSOP profile also records seven cashes and two final tables with a total of US$65K in winnings at the poker world championship.
Sergej Barbarez In His Poker Side (Image Pokernews).
In the preview, even Gattuso had defined him as “a great poker player”, almost as if he had smelled that across from him was a coach accustomed to reading spots and enduring tension.
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On the Italian side, Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon Was The Face Of Pokerstars And Participated In Some Tournaments (Image Pokerstars).
This time, Bosnia was the one that hit, held on, and cashed. Italy, on the other hand, once again paid dearly for a tournament it played as if there were always one more card left. And no: when the lights go out, there is no rebuy for a national team that has already turned World Cup drama into a habit.
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