Italy is aiming to take a major step toward the 2026 World Cup when it hosts Northern Ireland in Thursday’s one-legged playoff semifinal.
Having failed to qualify automatically during the group stage for this summer’s expanded tournament, Italy was forced to accept its place in the playoff round. Back-to-back victories will secure its ticket to North America, with Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina to come should it topple Northern Ireland.
Nerves will be jangling in Bergamo and across Italy after the four-time world champions have rather embarrassingly failed to qualify for the past two World Cups. Gennaro Gattuso is tasked with avoiding a third successive disaster.
Northern Ireland is enormous underdogs for its trip to Italy and Michael O’Neill’s men understand the sheer scale of their assignment. They will require a first win over the Azzurri since the 1958 World Cup and will have to overcome a 56-place gap between the nations in FIFA’s world rankings.
Should Italy or Northern Ireland qualify for the World Cup, the winner will join co-hosts Canada alongside Qatar and Switzerland in the palatable Group B.
Italy vs. Northern Ireland Score Prediction
Italy has no excuses for Thursday’s match. It boasts a squad far, far superior to its opposition’s and should take full advantage of its wealth of talent, along with the support of the home crowd at the New Balance Arena.
Italy won six of its eight qualifying matches, admittedly dispatching sides worse than Northern Ireland, but confidence might be an issue. After bruising defeats to Norway and nightmares of recent World Cup qualification campaigns looming, Gattuso and his players know they can take nothing for granted.
- Rankings tell the story: Italy sits perched 13th in the FIFA rankings—the best nation yet to have qualified for the World Cup—while Northern Ireland is all the way down in 69th. On paper, this is no contest, although the hosts are not expected to blow their visitors away. O’Neill’s side is often stronger than the sum of its parts.
- Recent meetings: The two nations locked horns during the 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, where a goalless draw in Belfast proved costly for Italy. However, on home soil, the 2020 European champions ran out comfortable 2–0 victors, and they should enjoy another comfortable evening this Thursday.
- Goal-fest under Gattuso: Italy has rarely been prolific on the international stage, even in its brighter days, but it has scored plenty under Gattuso. In his six matches in charge, Italy has netted 19 times, with its attacking players boosted by their recent purple patch ahead of the clash with Northern Ireland.
Prediction: Italy 2–0 Northern Ireland
Italy Predicted Lineup vs. Northern Ireland
Gattuso is sweating on the fitness of three star performers for the Northern Ireland clash: Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni and Roma’s Gianluca Mancini are all included in this month’s squad despite the fact they’re carrying knocks. Italian fans will pray they are all available.
The Azzurri are already without Napoli star Giovanni Di Lorenzo, as well as Atalanta’s Gianluca Scamacca, Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa and Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario—the latter undergoing an operation on a hernia.
Fortunately for Gattuso, Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori has been cleared to feature in his three-man defense.
Italy predicted lineup vs. Northern Ireland (3-1-4-2): Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Locatelli; Politano, Tonali, Barella, Dimarco; Retegui, Kean.
Northern Ireland Predicted Lineup vs. Italy
Northern Ireland is without some important names for its Italian adventure—chiefly Liverpool right back Conor Bradley. A knee injury has sidelined the flying fullback for the remainder of the current campaign.
Sunderland center back Dan Ballard is another sizable absentee, the towering defender sitting out of Thursday’s match due to a hamstring complaint. Jamal Lewis is also absent at left wing-back, perhaps paving the way for the versatile Justin Devenny to be drafted into the role.
George Saville is back from suspension, joining Shea Charles as a significant returnee to the team. Youngsters Kieran Morrison and Tom Atcheson, the former of Liverpool, could make their debuts in an emergency situation.
What Time Does Italy vs. Northern Ireland Kick Off?
- Location: Bergamo, Italy
- Stadium: New Balance Arena
- Date: Thursday, March 26
- Kick-off Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT / 3:45 p.m. ET / 12:45 p.m. PT
- Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED)
- VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
How to Watch Italy vs. Northern Ireland on TV, Live Stream
| Country | TV Channel/Live Stream |
|---|---|
| United States | fuboTV, Peacock, ViX |
| United Kingdom | BBC Three, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web |
| Canada | DAZN Canada, TLN, fuboTV Canada, VIVA |
| Mexico | Sky Sports Mexico, Sky+, izzi |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Italy vs. Northern Ireland—World Cup Playoff: Preview, Predictions and Lineups.
