Italy host Northern Ireland on Thursday night, as they look to book their place to play Wales or Bosnia & Herzegovina for a shot at qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Despite winning six of their eight qualifiers, manager Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy failed to qualify for the tournament automatically.
The four-time World Cup winners succumbed to eventual Group I winners Norway twice, losing by a three-goal margin in both matches.
The Azzurri now look to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014, following successive play-off losses to Sweden and North Macedonia in 2017 and 2022, respectively.
Northern Ireland will travel to Rome knowing that a win would see them go one step closer to qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986.
Manager Martin O’Neill’s side managed only three wins from their six qualifiers, which came from two matches against Luxembourg and one against Slovakia.
It saw them secure third place in Group A, though they now prepare to face Italy away from home, having won only one of their last 10 competitive away matches.
What are the best bets for Italy vs Northern Ireland?
Italy to win to nil, Under 3.5 goals
The hosts should win this game on quality alone, but with their past experiences in World Cup play-off matches going against them, don’t expect this to be easy.
Though spanning over a decade, Northern Ireland have made it difficult for Italy on numerous occasions.
I expect that this match will be decided by a narrow margin, though, despite history suggesting otherwise, it will go in Italy’s favour.
Take Italy to win to nil and for there to be under 3.5 goals in the game, as this has happened in three of the last five head-to-heads.
Where can I watch Italy vs Northern Ireland?
Fubo TV, Peacock and ViX are the places to see this match live in the United States. Kick-off is at 15:45 EST on Thursday, March 26.
In the United Kingdom, the BBC will show this match across their platforms, including BBC iPlayer and BBC Northern Ireland. Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT.
What is Italy’s current form?
W-W-W-W-L
What is Northern Ireland’s current form?
L-W-L-L-W
What were the results of the last five head-to-head matches between Italy and Northern Ireland?
15/11/21 – Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy (World Cup – Qualification)
25/03/21 – Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland (World Cup – Qualification)
11/10/11 – Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland (Euro – Qualification)
08/10/10 – Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy (Euro – Qualification)
03/06/09 – Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland (Friendly)
What is Italy’s predicted team?
Donnarumma – Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori – Politano, Locatelli, Barella, Tonali, Dimarco – Retegui, Kean
What is Northern Ireland’s predicted team?
Peacock-Farrell – McConville, Brown, McNair – Hume, S.Charles, Galbraith, Devenny – Lyons, Price – D.Charles
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