Following a spine-tingling rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, Wales talisman Harry Wilson nearly gave the home supporters a special goal to celebrate when he unleashed a curling strike that crashed against the far post to the relief of the Bosnian supporters in a noisy corner of the Cardiff City Stadium.
The visitors were certainly up for the battle and were willing to make it a physical contest, which led to a stop-start half but presented Wales with set-piece opportunities.
Wilson threatened from one of the many free-kicks that came the home side’s way, forcing Nikola Vasilj to beat the ball away from danger at the near post, ensuring a tense contest remained goalless at the break.
With Craig Bellamy's half-time team talk ringing in his ears, Daniel James required just seven second-half minutes to make the all-important breakthrough with a fierce strike from distance that raised the roof in the Welsh capital.
The Leeds United attacker raced onto the loose ball and his decision to shoot early caught out Vasilj, who appeared to slip at the crucial moment.
Buoyed by scoring his 11th international goal, James then went agonisingly close to doubling the hosts’ advantage with a left-footed shot that deflected up onto the crossbar.
Feeling their World Cup dream slipping away, Bosnia were forced to come out of their shell and show more attacking intent, which soon materialised into an Ermedin Demirovic header that required Karl Darlow to make a desperate save at full stretch.
Unfortunately for the Welsh goalkeeper, those heroics were soon forgotten when he made the ill-advised decision to come for an 86th-minute corner that was glanced home by veteran forward Edin Dzeko, who sent the tie to extra time with the sixth goal from his last six international appearances.
The two sets of players had a short rest before they recommenced battle in the first period of extra time, which saw Tarik Muharemovic produce a last-ditch header to keep out Wilson’s goalbound effort. The determined Dragons were the stronger side in the final 15 minutes, but Bosnia stood firm to ensure the lottery of a penalty shootout was required to decide which team could continue to dream of a summer in North America.
Darlow made the first stop of the nervy shootout, but Brennan Johnson blazed his effort over before Neco Williams' penalty was superbly saved by Vasilj, laying the platform for Kerim Alajbegović to drill home the winning spot-kick to send the Bosnia faithful wild and quash Wales’ hopes of a second successive WC appearance.
In doing so, the teenager also maintained Bosnia’s hopes of reaching their second-ever finals as an independent nation.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)