Italy Drawnโ Against โNorthern Ireland in 2026 World Cup Playoff Semi-final
BELFAST – Italy will โface Northern Ireland in a high-stakes semi-final playoff match on March 26th,as the path to the 2026 World Cup becomes clearer following today’s draw. The winner will then face either Wales or Bosniaโฃ in aโฃ subsequent away final, continuing a challenging route โขfor the Azzurri.
The draw evokes memories for Italian football fans, recalling Northern Ireland’s shock โข1958 World Cup qualification at Italy’s expense – a group stage โคvictoryโข in Belfast denying โฃthe Azzurri a place in Sweden. More recently, a 0-0 draw in Belfast in 2021 contributed to Italy’s need โฃto enter the playoff system.
Currently, most of the Northern Ireland squad play inโ England,โข with five players featuring in โฃthe Premier League, including Liverpool’s Conor Bradley.
wales,whoโค reached the last World Cup,boast ten Premier League players inโ their ranks,ledโ by Neco Williams of Forest and johnsonโฃ of tottenham. Fulham’s Wilson, with five goals during qualification, was their top scorer. Former Italian โleague players Ampadu (ex-Spezia and Venezia) and Ramsey are also key figures.
Bosnia, โseeking to recapture the form that saw them qualifyโ for Brazil 2014, still relies onโข veteran Edin Dzeko (72 international goals) and Atalanta’s Kolasinac, though the latter is recovering from a cruciate ligament tear. Stuttgart’s Demirovic is also nearing full fitness.โ Several players with ties to Italianโ clubs are in the Bosnian squad, including Muharemovic of sassuolo, Hadzikadunicโฃ of Sampdoria, and Tahirovic, a product of โคthe roma youth system now at Ajax.
“It depends only on us,” echoed the approach of coach โฃGattuso, who stated, “Test โonly Ireland, then if it goes well, we will also think about the โคothers andโ theโ possible away final, on pitches that can put any team in difficulty. Ireland is within our reach,they โare very strongโข physically. We will have to play a great match, but we will play it.”
Failure โto win โขthis playoff route would mean watching theโ 2026 World Cup from home, a scenario many Italian fansโ believe would be a deserved outcome given recent performances.
