STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Thurs: Italy v Northern Ireland

This summer’s World Cup is getting ever closer, and the final spots are up for grabs with the European-play-offs, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

In Bergamo, the Stakes will be very high as Italy face Northern Ireland. The Azzurri have failed to reach the World Cup since 2014 and will be desperate to break that curse with this extended 48-team tournament having already helped them avoid disappointment, whilst Northern Ireland are chasing a first World Cup appearance since Mexico 1986, having arguably overachieved given their size and stature. The winner will face either Wales or Bosnia in the deciding fixture next week.

The Italians, who have searched in vain to return to the World Cup, have turned to Gennaro Gattuso to get them over the line.

The former AC Milan midfielder stepped into the role to replace Luciano Spalletti in June, and has won five of his six matches, a strong start to a role that will be defined by what happens over the next few days. The Azzuri’s boss has spoken openly about their absence – virtually an entire generation of Italian children have no memories of their national team playing in the World Cup – and he’s also opted to take this lay-off away from the San Siro for a more harmonious atmosphere in the cauldron that is Bergamo’s New Balance Arena.

Italy were blown away by Norway during their Group I campaign (4-1 and 3-0), but they won all their other group games against Moldova (2-0 and 2-0), Israel (3-0 and 5-4), and Estonia (3-1 and 5-0), when they had to work to break down their opponents but used their class to pull through.

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Italy v Northern Ireland
2026 FIFA World Cup Play-off Semi-Final Path A
19:45 BBC One NI HD / BBC Three HD / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport Website

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
NOV 2021 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy
MAR 2021 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
OCT 2011 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland
OCT 2010 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy
JUN 2009 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland

ITALY
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Italy 1-4 Norway
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Moldova 0-2 Italy
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Italy 3-0 Israel
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Estonia 1-3 Italy
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Israel 4-5 Italy

NORTHERN IRELAND
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Northern Ireland 1-0 Luxembourg
NOV 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Slovakia 1-0 Northern Ireland
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany
OCT 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Northern Ireland 2-0 Slovakia
SEP 2025 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland

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It’s often said that this isn’t a vintage Italy side and the balance of power has moved away from Serie A, but the hosts can still count on the likes of Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella of Inter whilst Riccardo Calafiori and Alessandro Bastoni are top-quality defenders ahead of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Northern Ireland deserve credit for reaching this stage, with Martin O’Neill doing a stellar (and part-time!) job at the helm of proceedings. Nine points from a four-team group that included Germany was a respectable return, especially given how hard they pushed Die Nationalmannschaft at Windsor Park. The issue for their prospects tonight are two fold however – this isn’t Windsor Park, and they also have key absentees to boot.

Northern Ireland’s home record is very respectable indeed but their away record doesn’t match up. They have won three of their 19 away internationals since March 2022, with their victories coming at San Marino, Scotland and Luxembourg, and to add to their issues, defensive injuries to Dan Ballard and Conor Bradley seriously weaken them.

The visitors are likely to be tough to break down regardless – Across their last four qualifiers, they conceded just twice, keeping Slovakia out until the 90th minute – but Italy’s greater depth and home advantage should be enough for them to progress here. Italy have kept four clean sheets in their last six wins so the 1-0 and 2-0 correct scores could give punters a good run for their money with starsports.bet.

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