Key events
Northern Ireland get the ball rolling. A long pass down the left. McConville flicks on but Donnarumma gathers. The atmosphere is intense all right!
“Ciao Beppe.” Before kick-off, a minute of silence in honour of former Atalanta, Bologna, Napoli and Italy striker Giuseppe Savoldi, who passed away today at the age of 79.
The players take to the field of play … and yep, the atmosphere is bubbling away, real savage-cauldron-like. Anthems. You all know God Save the King. Italy’s is a proper banger, though, and 23,000 blue-scarf-waving Italians – scarves courtesy of the Italian federation – belt it out. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Tonight’s game is being played at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, Bergamo, the home of Atalanta. Italy have never lost here, ever since beating Turkey 7-1 in 1964. They’ve since beaten Malta 5-0 in 1987, drawn 1-1 with Turkey in 2006, drawn 1-1 with the Netherlands in 2020, and thrashed Estonia 5-0 last September. That last one was Gennaro Gattuso’s first game as Italy coach, the hosts going in goalless at the break yet still applauded by the locals, a courtesy that went down well with the new boss. “I chose the stadium,” says Gattuso explained. “I believe that when you go to a stadium like San Siro, there are Inter and Milan fans, and they might start booing after a few wrong passes. Playing in a smaller stadium will likely give us a better atmosphere. We hope to create a real cauldron-like atmosphere.”
Michael O’Neill talks to the BBC. “With the players we have unavailable, the most important thing was to put as much running power and athleticism in the team … that’s what we’ve tried to do … Brodie Spencer on the left hand side … Justin [Devenny] in a midfield area … [Ali McCann] did everything possible to be fit but unfortunately didn’t make it … we’re young … they’re ready for the occasion, I believe they are … [Jamie Donley] played well in the Luxembourg game … he’s a different proposition from the other strikers we have … he’ll drop into areas and will be difficult for them to play against … a young player with high potential … we know what type of game it is … we’re obviously going to have to be very disciplined … very good out of possession … but we can also cause them problems … particularly in transition … running power … get up the pitch … retain the ball … we have the players to cause them problems … we’re obviously delighted to be here at this stage of the competition but we want to go the next step … there’s a steely determination … confidence … belief … a young team with everything to gain and hopefully they can take that next step.”
Pre-match postbag. “Northern Ireland perfectly anagrams into ‘lend a ninth error’. Italy have played eight matches so far in this World Cup qualification campaign. Just saying” – krishnamoorthy v
“It’s gli Azzurri v Norn Iron, Andrea Bocelli v Van Morrison, La Dolce Vita v In the Name of the Father, cappuccino and cornetto v Ulster fry. No matter what happens, I’m sure Italia boss Gennaro Gattuso will set a shining example of calm, dignity and respect” – Peter Oh
“This could be real fun. Norn Iron shorn of some top players, all down to the backup now. Italy happy to have Tonali back, but given how ‘well’ Newcastle have been performing recently this could be good or bad news. I don’t think this will make the slightest difference to O’Neill’s game plan. I’m on for a 0-1, any takers ? Should I get down the bookies’ sharpish?” – Jeremy Boyce
“Imagine failing to qualify for three World Cups in a row, eh? What a shower. More seriously, I still remember Scotland getting done in a Euro qualifying playoff against Italy by a goal resulting from an absolute joke of a dive in 2007; so, and somewhat to my own surprise, ‘mon the six counties!” – James Humphries (who is referring to the match covered in the MBM that follows, and appears to be still registering B on the old GUARDIAN UNLIMITED PATENTED FUNK-O-METER®)
Pennant Watch. Here’s the slightly fussy trinket Gianluigi Donnarumma will be handing over before kick-off …
… and the much calmer effort he’ll get back in return from Trai Hume. Italy will play in House of Savoy blue, with Northern Ireland in second-choice white.
Northern Ireland – who already knew they had to do without two of their biggest stars in captain Conor Bradley and defender Daniel Ballard – are also missing Ali McCann in midfield. The Preston midfielder hasn’t recovered in time from an injury picked up recently against Coventry City. Ballard’s Sunderland team-mate Trai Hume assumes captaincy duties. It’s a young team, with only Paddy McNair, 31 next month, over the age of 24. Eight are 22 or under.
Italy meanwhile are buoyed by the news that Sandro Tonali is fit to start. Riccardo Calafiori comes back into the side, while Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui pair up at the sharp end.
The teams
Italy: Donnarumma, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori, Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco, Kean, Retegui.
Subs: Carnesecchi, Meret, Palestra, Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Raspadori, Pisilli, Esposito, Cristante, Frattesi, Gatti, Scalvini.
Northern Ireland: Pierce Charles, Hume, McNair, McConville, Devlin, Shea Charles, Galbraith, Devenny, Spencer, Price, Donley.
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Hazard, Toal, Atcheson, Saville, Marshall, Kelly, Smyth, Lyons, Reid, Magennis, Brown.
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Preamble
“Bout ye, Italy?” To which the only honest answer is surely: we’ve felt better. Because while Italy go into tonight’s 2026 World Cup qualification semi-final with a 100-percent record at home to Northern Ireland, they have demons, baggage, and demons carrying baggage containing demons.
You see, the Azzurri are living in ABJECT FEAR OF FAILING TO QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP FINALS FOR THE THIRD SUCCESSIVE TIME, and the implications of that for the four-time winners don’t bear thinking about. And while they’re hot favourites to clear this hurdle tonight, they were hot favourites to see off Sweden in these play-offs for Russia 2018, and hot favourites at home against North Macedonia for Qatar 2022, and look what happened there. So nobody’s taking anything for granted. Oh, and those aforementioned qualification disasters were only the second and third time Italy had ever failed to reach the World Cup finals. The first, back in 1958? Well that particular blow was dealt by …
… Northern Ireland! Of course it was. Settle down, children, and allow me to plagiarise myself tell you a story.
The Italian national team had a hard time of it for quite a while after the war. The 1948 Superga crash, which wiped out Torino, effectively did for the Azzurri too. A depleted team made their way to Brazil for the 1950 World Cup, but only by boat, understandably fearful of air travel. Knackered and unfit coming off the ship, they almost immediately got themselves knocked out. They travelled home by plane.
The 1954 tournament in Switzerland ended abruptly with a 4-1 trouncing at the hands of the hosts. Chile in 1962 was all about the shame of Santiago, though that was nothing on the humiliation North Korea heaped on them in 1966. After which the team won Euro 68 and made it to the final of the 1970 World Cup. All better, then, but by lord those two decades were quite the haul.
Italy only once failed to qualify for the World Cup during that 20-year nadir. (They’d made it to all the others with the exception of the very first one in 1930, a jamboree they didn’t bother to attend, in a fit of pique at being looked over for hosting duties in favour of Uruguay.) That blemish, the first on their qualification record, came in the 1958 series when their side – containing Uruguay’s 1950 stars Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia – were bundled out of the competition by a formidable Northern Ireland team not short of a few decently sized names itself in Danny Blanchflower, Harry Gregg and Peter McParland.
The manner of Italy’s exit was nothing short of farcical. The teams were due to play the decisive qualifier at Windsor Park in early December 1957. A victory for the Irish would send them through; Italy needed a draw to put them in a position where a home win in their final game over a dismal Portugal would fire them to the finals in Sweden instead. But referee Istvan Zsolt had been held up en route from Hungary to Belfast by fog in London, and only a local official could be found to replace him. Five minutes before kick-off, it was announced that the game would only be a friendly, causing much bristling in the crowd who, according to the Guardian, seemed “unlikely to forget what they considered to be the intractability of the Italians over match arrangements and left no doubt that they felt they should have agreed to a British referee”. Aye, right you are.
And in fairness, the Italians had a point. Their keeper Ottavio Bugatti was knocked from pillar to post by the likes of McParland, who had form for this sort of nonsense, as those who recall the 1957 FA Cup final would testify. In the final minute of a 2-2 draw, Guiseppe Chiapella leapt at McParland after one charge too many, and was sent off. Not that the Italians had been saints themselves, mind, Chiapella, Schiaffino and Rino Ferrario all taking turns to throw hands in the determined style. At the final whistle, thousands of spectators flooded the field of play with a view to raising Cain. Ferrario was sent crashing to the floor and had to be carted back to the dressing room unconscious.
As it transpired, that result would have been enough for the Italians, who went on to beat Portugal 3-0 before Christmas. But decisions are decisions, and they were forced to go again. In the New Year, the rescheduled qualifier in Belfast was played, and the Irish stormed into a two-goal lead by half-time, Jimmy McIlroy and Wilbur Cush with the goals. Dino Da Costa bundled one back for Italy shortly after the break, but the ghig was up for Italy when Ghiggia, of all folk, was sent off with 25 minutes to go for a physical disagreement with Alf McMichael. Ireland were through, Italy were out, and what an end to a World Cup career for poor Ghiggia, the man who scored the most dramatic and far-reaching goal the tournament has ever seen.
But history is one thing, and the present something else entirely. This should be a home banker. Having said that, Italy were thrashed 4-1 at home by Norway in their previous match, while Northern Ireland are coming off the back of a 1-0 win over Luxembourg, all of which proves (a) Erling Haaland is one heck of a player, (b) you can only beat who are put in front of you, and (c) a win for the Green and White Army would be seismic. Kick-off is at 7.45pm GMT. It’s on!
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/mar/26/italy-v-northern-ireland-world-cup-playoff-live
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