Italy to face Northern Ireland after missing out on automatic qualification for World Cup.Four-time World Cup winners Italy will face Northern Ireland in the semi-finals of the European playoffs for the 2026 football tournament, following the draw made on Thursday.Italy will be seeking to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2014 after missing the last two editions of the tournament in 2018 and 2022, both following playoff defeats. Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso said the Azzurri will be ready for Northern Ireland whose team he described to Sky Sports Italia as "physical, they never give up". "Right now, we must work on our fragility because we've proved that when we do things right, we are competitive," Gattuso said. Northern Ireland, who secured their play-off place through the UEFA Nations League route, enter the tie as clear underdogs based on their world ranking. However they will draw inspiration from past upsets, including their famous 1-0 victory over Italy in 1958, which also kept the Italians out of the World Cup. "There will be immense pressure on Italy, they have obviously missed the last two World Cups," noted Northern Ireland coach Michael O'Neill. "We have everything to gain in this situation." Italy suffered a 4-1 defeat against Norway on Sunday, putting them out of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup tournament. The match between Italy and Northern Ireland, scheduled on 26 March, is part of a four-team bracket for one of the four final European places at the expanded 48-team World Cup. The other semi-final on 26 March will see Wales face Bosnia and Herzegovina. Should Italy overcome Northern Ireland, the Azzurri will face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final on 31 March.

Four-time World Cup winners Italy will face Northern Ireland in the semi-finals of the European playoffs for the 2026 football tournament, following the draw made on Thursday. Italy will be seeking to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2014 after missing the last two editions of the tournament in 2018 and 2022, both following playoff defeats. Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso said the Azzurri will be ready for Northern Ireland whose team he described to Sky Sports Italia as "physical, they never give up". "Right now, we must work on our fragility because we've proved that when we do things right, we are competitive," Gattuso said. Northern Ireland, who secured their play-off place through the UEFA Nations League route, enter the tie as clear underdogs based on their world ranking. However they will draw inspiration from past upsets, including their famous 1-0 victory over Italy in 1958, which also kept the Italians out of the World Cup. "There will be immense pressure on Italy, they have obviously missed the last two World Cups," noted Northern Ireland coach Michael O'Neill. "We have everything to gain in this situation." Italy suffered a 4-1 defeat against Norway on Sunday, putting them out of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup tournament. The match between Italy and Northern Ireland, scheduled on 26 March, is part of a four-team bracket for one of the four final European places at the expanded 48-team World Cup. The other semi-final on 26 March will see Wales face Bosnia and Herzegovina. Should Italy overcome Northern Ireland, the Azzurri will face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final on 31 March.