Italy to face Northern Ireland in 2026 World Cup play-offs
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Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has warned that Northern Ireland will be a tough opponent in the European play-offs for World Cup 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ZURICH – Four-time World Cup winners Italy will face Northern Ireland in the semi-finals of the European play-offs for the 2026 tournament, following the draw on Nov 20.
If Italy get through that match on March 26, they will play the winner of Wales’ semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina five days later.
The Italians, who have failed to reach the last two World Cups, will be hoping to avoid the painful elimination they suffered in the play-offs for the 2022 Finals in Qatar and the 2018 edition in Russia.
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso warned that Northern Ireland are a team who “never gives up”.
“It’s a physical team,” he told Sky Sports Italia after the draw.
“We have to play it. I’ve been saying this for three months. We knew we had to go through the play-offs; we knew our path had to improve. We look ahead with confidence.”
Gattuso has used different formations so far since he was appointed in June, but he believes that the Azzurri’s issue is not tactical. He said his priority is trying to find an answer to the team’s “fragility”, adding “because we’ve proved that when we do things right, we are competitive”.
Meanwhile, former Wales striker Robert Earnshaw told the BBC: “Bosnia and Herzegovina are a good team but they’re beatable, we’re playing home too.
“The big one is the potential of Italy or Northern Ireland, that’s going to be huge. It’s going to take something gigantic for us to qualify for the World Cup.”
In other eye-catching matchups, war-torn Ukraine will play a star-studded Sweden team who could feature Liverpool forward Alexander Isak and Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres.
If the Ukrainians get past the Swedes, they will face the winner of Poland’s match against Albania for a place in the Finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Ireland, who reached the play-offs thanks to a late goal from Troy Parrott that earned a 3-2 win in Hungary on Nov 16, must travel to the Czech Republic.
The winner of that match will host the winner of the semi-final between Denmark and North Macedonia.
Turkey will play Romania, who were surprise quarter-finalists the last time the tournament was played in the United States in 1994.
The winner of that game will face either Slovakia or Kosovo, who are bidding to reach a World Cup for the first time in their history.
In the intercontinental play-offs, New Caledonia – aiming to reach their maiden World Cup – will play against Jamaica for the right to face the seeded Democratic Republic of Congo.
Meanwhile, Bolivia will play Suriname – another country seeking a first appearance at football’s showpiece – with the victor going on to a winners-take-all game against Iraq. AFP
