European champions Italy will face a play-off to reach the 2022 World Cup after drawing with Northern Ireland at Windsor Park.
That result, coupled with Switzerland’s resounding 4-0 win over Bulgaria, consigned Roberto Mancini’s side to the lottery of the play-offs for the second World Cup qualifying campaign in a row while the Swiss have gone through automatically.
Despite their success in this summer’s European Championships, it was Northern Ireland who enjoyed the better of proceedings and could even feel disappointed not to have recorded what would have been a historic victory.
Elsewhere, Scotland guaranteed seeding for the play-offs by beating Denmark 2-0 at Hampden Park after goals from John Souttar and Che Adams.
In Group I, England’s stunning 10-0 win away in San Marino saw them easily book their place in Qatar while Poland’s win over Hungary saw them qualify for the play-offs.
The play-offs will be held in March before the tournament begins in mid-November.
