Italy moved within one win of ending its 12-year World Cup absence with a 2-0 qualification playoff semifinal victory over Northern Ireland on Thursday thanks to second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean.
The breakthrough arrived in the 56th minute when Tonali pounced on a cleared cross, letting the ball bounce once before firing into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Kean effectively ended the contest in the 80th minute, latching onto a Tonali pass and ghosting past his marker before dispatching a low strike into the net.
The four-time world champion will on Tuesday face the winner of the clash between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the tournament in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in June-July.
Pressure was high on Gennaro Gattuso’s side following Italy’s omission from the last two World Cups.
After failing to score in a 1-0 aggregate playoff defeat to Sweden in 2017 and suffering a shock semifinal loss to North Macedonia in 2022, the host started at a frantic pace.
Federico Dimarco forced an early save from Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pierce Charles with a low volley, before Kean saw his follow-up from the parried rebound drift wide from close range.
The host, spurred on by a vocal crowd, dominated the opening half but failed to break the deadlock, with Kean dragging a shot wide and Mateo Retegui firing straight at Charles from close range to leave the match goalless at the interval.
Following Tonali’s opener, Italy maintained the pressure and Kean nearly doubled the lead with an acrobatic overhead kick from Nicolo Barella’s cross.
While that effort flew narrowly wide, the striker made no mistake moments later to finally grab his goal.
Northern Ireland mounted a frantic late charge in the closing stages, but the final whistle confirmed its quest to reach a first World Cup since 1986 had reached a disappointing end.
Published on Mar 27, 2026
Source link
#FIFA #World #Cup #playoffs #Tonali #stars #Italy #knocks #Northern #Ireland
Post Comment