His team drew 1:1 away at Union Berlin and remained in the uncomfortable 16th position in the Bundesliga, which leads to a playoff for survival among the elite. However, he once again captured public attention during the penalty shootout against Italy, which sent the Dragons to the World Cup and left Italy without a spot in the World Cup for the third consecutive time. Vasilj revealed details of the unusual situation with Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. "He tried to tear up the piece of paper on which I had written information about their penalty takers. Fortunately, our coaching staff had a copy, so we were prepared for everything," Vasilj told Gazzetta dello Sport. He added how the situation caught him off guard. "Honestly, I couldn't believe what was happening. It was the first time something like this had happened to me. We argued, and then I went to the referee to ask for a yellow card because I thought it was an unsportsmanlike move." In the end, everything turned out in favor of our national team. "I don't want to say too much... we won. Some say it's karma, and maybe there's something to that." The whole story also had an unusual epilogue. Namely, a 14-year-old ball boy became a kind of viral hit after reportedly getting hold of the instructions Donnarumma was using during the match. Regardless of the controversies, one thing is certain: the story of the penalties against Italy has already entered the legend of Bosnian football, and Nikola Vasilj has become one of the key heroes of that historic success.