Italy finally won a match within the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion must win another to avoid failing to qualify for a 3rd straight time.
The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 within the European semifinals on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early within the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo after which arrange one other goal for Moise Kean.
“After taking the lead, we cleared our minds,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “We put in a very good performance. This ought to be a confidence boost for Tuesday. … We’ve got to win. We’ve got no other selection.”
Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Poland, Turkey, Kosovo, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Italy next visits Bosnia and Herzegovina needing one other victory to succeed in the upcoming tournament in North America and avoid going at the least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer’s biggest event.
The winner of that match will open their World Cup on June twelfth against Canada in Toronto.
Bosnia beat Wales, and the Czech Republic beat Ireland in penalty shootouts.
The opposite finals matchups are: Sweden vs. Poland; Turkey vs. Kosovo; and Denmark vs. the Czech Republic.
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Italy was eliminated by Sweden over two winless legs within the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup then was stunned by North Macedonia within the semifinal round in 2022.
Italy’s World Cup struggles return all of the solution to 2010 and 2014, having did not advance from its group on each occasions.
The Azzurri’s last World Cup knockout match was after they won the title in 2006 by beating France in a penalty shootout.
Italy produced seven shots on goal while Northern Ireland had none.
For the second goal, Tonali’s cross-field pass arrange Kean, who made an authority control and finish.
“We didn’t have many moments of quality, but we did well to take advantage of them after we did,” Tonali said. “We focused on not giving them their strengths and were focused on the set plays, so after we do this, it’s unlikely we’ll concede to this sort of team.
“We’ve been feeling positive for the reason that coach arrived, we’ve got to proceed like this, there’s no other option but to win,” Tonali said of Gattuso, who replaced the fired Luciano Spalletti in June.
Gyökeres scores three for Sweden
Viktor Gyökeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gyökeres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign.
The sport was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn’t hosted international games for the reason that Russian invasion of 2022.
Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a vital header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker’s bid to succeed in a 3rd World Cup.
Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski’s header at a corner got his team back into the sport before Piotr Zielinski’s goal put Poland in front.
Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal all the way down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Turkey for a World Cup spot, with the winner taking over Australia in Vancouver on June 14.
Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in a Denmark’s 4-0 win over North Macedonia.
Lucescu’s Romania eliminated
In an early match, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and can face either Slovakia or Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002.
Turkey took the lead shortly after the break when Ferdi Kadioglu was arrange in front of the goal with an extended, accurate pass from Arda Guler, a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could turn into one among the World Cup’s younger standouts.
Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship.
Romania’s elimination signifies that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won’t get a probability to teach on the World Cup for the primary time. Lucescu captained Romania on the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Turkey.
Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania within the second half in Istanbul.
“We knew it could be a troublesome match. Lucescu knows us well and ready accordingly,” Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said. “In the primary half, we could have made higher runs in behind. Within the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind. … From then, it was ours.”
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