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55 min: \u2026 and nothing comes of the corner. But \u2026<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 54 min: That\u2019s got Italy\u2019s tail up, though, and here they come again. Kean opens his legs down the inside-right channel and whistles a fine low diagonal drive towards the bottom left. It\u2019s heading in, but Pierce Charles extends fully to fingertip around the post! Two huge saves in a minute!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 53 min: A huge chance for Italy<\/a>, as Retegui latches onto Devin\u2019s dismal backpass and tears clear down the middle. But, under pressure from Spencer on his shoulder, Retegui takes a heavy touch, allowing Pierce Charles to spring forward and smother at his feet!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 52 min: The free kick is pumped into the Italian box, and earns a rare corner for Northern Ireland<\/a>. That\u2019s sent in my Galbraith, and Donnarumma flaps in an unconvincing fashion. But he does just enough to clear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 min: Politano has probably been Italy\u2019s best player, though the bar is set low. He crosses from the right, hoping to find Kean or Retegui in the middle. McNair clears. Italy come again. Kean goes over. No penalty, though Italy claim for one. Northern Ireland<\/a> counter. Bastoni brings down an in-flight Price, and this is a free kick in a central position, 30 yards out. It is all happening.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 50 min: Tonali crosses from the right. Kean can\u2019t connect. The ball\u2019s half-cleared to Calafiori, who under instruction from an anxious crowd takes a whack from distance. The ball bobbles through to Pierce Charles.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 49 min: Bastoni miskicks a simple clearance. Then Donnarumma nearly allows Donley to close him down. The home fans do not enjoy this passage of play. Nerves the top note.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 48 min: Some head tennis on the edge of the Italy<\/a> box. Hume brings the ball under control, sort of, juggling it a la Best before looping a volley over the bar. And well wide.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min: Tonali bumbles his way down the left wing and falls over in the general environs of Hume. He claims a free kick that he\u2019s never going to get. Gennaro Gattuso throws his arms open wide in the performative fashion. A bit early for all this.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Italy get the second half started. No changes. \u201cGreat to see Gianfranco Zola on the BBC TV coverage,\u201d writes Andrew Goudie. \u201cOne of my favourite players ever. How did he only get 35 caps for Italy<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Gianfranco Zola, he was just one of the 74,150 stylish Italian numbers 10\u2019s to play in Serie A in the 1990\u2019s. Photograph: Shaun Botterill\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.55 EDT<\/p>\n Half-time postbag. \u201cI think Michael O\u2019Neill is a terrific international manager (can\u2019t speak to his work at clubs) and I\u2019d love to see him at a post where he had more to work with – maybe someplace such as the Czech Republic, or Morocco, or even Uruguay once Bielsa\u2019s time passes, as it always seems to\u201d \u2013 Brad Wilson<\/p>\n \u201cI once took a holiday let in Bergamo \u2013 absolutely lovely city, and I had a very pleasant time, thank you. Anyway: my flat was three floors up, and the landlord very carefully explained to me, at some length, how the lift worked. My Italian was of the rudimentary food-ordering variety, so the finer details passed me by. It turned out that the lift for some obscure reason only had enough juice for a certain number of trips throughout the day, and if you were unlucky enough to arrive after the ration had been expended, you had to take the stairs. My misfortune was to get in the damn thing just on the cusp of it running out of power, hence a longish period in the doldrums to the locals\u2019 amusement. There may be some moral here for the Northern Ireland<\/a> team; we shall see\u201d \u2013 Charles Antaki<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Half-time reading. Just so we know where everyone is.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>HALF TIME: Italy 0-0 Northern Ireland<\/p>\n The hosts depart to a few whistles and a lot of concerned muttering. A third successive qualification failure still a very real possibility. Northern Ireland<\/a> will be delighted, though they\u2019ll also be aware that Estonia held Italy here at the break last autumn, and went on to lose 5-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min +1: Retegui can\u2019t get a shot away from a tight angle on the right. Northern Ireland<\/a> counter, and Donley drags a shot wide right. This is getting very scrappy, and it will surely suit the visitors more than the hosts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min: A brouhaha in the middle of the park as Galbraith slides in on Mancini. It could be a booking, but isn\u2019t. Bastoni arrives on the scene and tries to take Donley by the throat. The referee, livid, splits everyone apart and issues an animated bollocking. But no card. Everyone involved slightly fortunate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 44 min: A bit of space for Devlin, 30 yards from goal. He should feed Hume to his right, but takes a whack himself. Wrong decision. Then another wrong decision from the young Pompey man, who hoicks a cross from the right out for a goal kick. Again he had options in the middle.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 42 min: Politano has looked fairly lively, to be fair. He turns on the jets and makes good down the right, winning yet another Italian corner. Dimarco whips viciously to the near post, where Bastoni flicks inches over the bar. That would have certainly worked Pierce Charles had it been on target.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 40 min: Tonali shovels a pass down the inside-right channel in the hope of releasing Mancini into a pocket of space. McNair comes across to snuff out the move. The Italians are creating very little.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 38 min: Italy<\/a>, out of ideas for now at least, knock it long. Kean battles to make something out of very little, and from the right-hand edge of the D, lashes high and wide. It\u2019s an effort at least. Italy haven\u2019t had many of them.<\/p>\n Moise Kean struggles to control the ball in the box. Photograph: Giuseppe Cottini\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.33 EDT<\/p>\n 36 min: Donnarumma clanks a simple pass out of play for a throw down the right. From the throw, McNair sends a curler into the Italian mixer. McConville competes for a header, eight yards out, but Politano clears. A suggestion of handball, but like the Italian enquiry earlier, there\u2019s nothing in it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 34 min: \u2026 but the throw, when it\u2019s eventually taken, leads to a corner down the right. And from that, Bastoni\u2019s header is deflected wide by Spencer. Another corner leads to a free kick, which again releases the pressure. But Italy<\/a> are starting to apply it with regularity again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 33 min: Italy<\/a> are certainly getting frustrated. Price stops Barella gathering the ball for a quick throw, slapping it away from his hand. Barella had shoved Price seconds before. Some beneficial advice from the referee as both men square up. Everyone simmers down soon enough.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 32 min: Tonali crosses from the left but Kean heads harmlessly wide. Pierce Charles takes his sweet time over the goal kick, much to the annoyance of the home fans. We\u2019re at this point already, it would seem.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 30 min: This corner leads to some bedlam, but Kean can\u2019t work enough space to shoot, and eventually the ball clanks off the referee, who is obliged to stop play. A slightly lucky break for Northern Ireland<\/a> there, because they were struggling to clear their lines, and it was the first time Italy had looked dangerous for a wee while.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 min: \u2026 but there\u2019s absolutely nothing that\u2019s happened there. VAR check over, in short order. But Italy<\/a> come again, winning another corner, this time down the right.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 28 min: Politano crosses long from the right. Dimarco controls and wins a corner with a volley from a tight angle. The set piece is sent into the mixer. Donley hacks clear, but then there\u2019s a VAR check for a possible handball, the Italians having made a loud claim …<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 27 min: Galbraith looks for Donley down the right. A bit too much on the pass. Goal kick. But the visitors continue to ask a few questions. \u201cHi, or should I say Ciao, from Naples where my friends and sons are eager to see Italy qualify for the World Cup after recent failures,\u201d writes Colum Fordham. \u201cI\u2019ve been impressed by my favourite Italy players, both left-footed, Politano (who is a key player in our local Napoli team) and the excellent left wing back Dimarco who came close to scoring with a characteristically blistering shot. Northern Ireland<\/a> are playing with admirable verve but I\u2019m sure Italy have the quality to prevail. Famous last words or tempting fate, forse (perhaps).\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 26 min: Devenny and Galbraith take turns to hassle the Italian back line. The defenders win out, but still to the soundtrack of worried mutter. Northern Ireland<\/a> will be delighted to hear it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 24 min: \u201cShall we sing a song for you?\u201d chorus the travelling Northern Ireland<\/a> fans. Italian nerves beginning to kick in already, all right.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min: Italy<\/a> pass and probe. No way through. Barella, deep on the left, swings a diagonal to \u2026 nobody in particular. Goal kick. Barella guilty of trying to force it. Gennaro Gattuso\u2019s brow folds up in the anxious style.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 20 min: Mancini slips, allowing Galbraith to steam into space down the middle. He\u2019s got Price in space to his left, but opts to shoot himself. He\u2019s within his rights, but doesn\u2019t make much of a fist of the job, the ball bobbling through to Donnarumma. But that\u2019s a shot on target, and another moment of concern for the long-suffering Italian support.<\/p>\n Ethan Galbraith has an effort on goal for Norn. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.12 EDT<\/p>\n 19 min: Shea Charles races after a long pass down the left. Mancini knocks out for a throw, instead of passing back to Donnarumma. Hume flings into the mixer. Some head tennis. Galbraith eventually concedes a foul to release the pressure on Italy<\/a>. On the touchline, Michael O\u2019Neill looks happy enough.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18 min: Locatelli sends Politano into space down the right. Politano wins a corner, but the flag goes up for offside. This is pretty frantic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 17 min: Barella\u2019s turn to launch a speculative pass down the right. Kean nearly gets on the end of it, but McNair comes across to clear just as the striker pulled his leg back, preparing to shoot.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 16 min: Northern Ireland<\/a> are winning their fair share of balls in the middle of the park. They\u2019ve done a decent job of keeping the home fans quiet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min: Galbraith sends a speculative ball down the right. Calafiori miscontrols and concedes a needless corner. And from that set piece, a huge chance, Devenny whipping the corner in, McConville mistiming his leap six yards out, and missing out on the chance to connect with a header. A collective sharp intake of breath around the stadium as that ball flashed across the Italian goalmouth.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 13 min: Shea Charles slips a pass down the right in the hope of releasing Devenny. Just a bit too much zip on the ball, and Devenny can\u2019t control. But that\u2019s better from the visitors, who are showing a bit in attack now. And the home fans are quick to fall silent when they get on the ball.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 11 min: Spencer half-slaps Politano in the face. Play continues, and Northern Ireland<\/a> are on the attack, through Price down the inside-left channel \u2026 but then the referee decides to stop play for the head injury. Michael O\u2019Neill isn\u2019t happy, the referee having let play go on for a bit. Which, to be fair, he probably shouldn\u2019t have done.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min: Dimarco takes a short corner. One-two. Then a curler into the box. It\u2019s half cleared. Donley stands his ground on the edge of the D and is bundled over by Locatelli. The visitors survive again.<\/p>\n Jamie Donley is fouled by Manuel Locatelli. Photograph: Antonio Calanni\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.03 EDT<\/p>\n 9 min: Politano curls a low cross in from the right. McConville is forced to swing a leg and slice the ball out for another Italy<\/a> corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 min: \u2026 and now there\u2019s some pinball in the Northern Ireland<\/a> box. Dimarco shoots low and hard from the left. Pierce Charles gets down to parry. The ball clanks off Retegui but doesn\u2019t quite drop to Tonali. Had it done so, he\u2019d have been slotting from six yards. Northern Ireland already hanging on a bit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min: Italy<\/a>, buoyed by that, come again. Dimarco crosses from the left. A deflection off Devlin nearly sends the ball into the left-hand side of the goal. Pierce Charles adjusts well to bat it around the post, and nothing comes of the set piece. But this is a fast start by Italy.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min: The corner\u2019s hit long from the right. Tonali, of all players, rises highest to win a header on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. He sends the ball on a diagonal arc that only just sails wide of the top-right corner. Not sure Pierce Charles was getting back to that. A goal had it been on target.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min: A free kick for Northern Ireland<\/a> out on the right. McNair floats it into the mixer. McConville competes but shoves Bastoni over. It\u2019s a free kick, albeit a soft one. Italy go straight up the other end, Kean entering the Irish box and winning the first corner of the evening with a deflected shot. And from the corner \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min: What Italy<\/a> would give for Savoldi tonight. The world\u2019s first million-pound player when he left Bologna for Napoli in 1975.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.51 EDT<\/p>\n Northern Ireland get the ball rolling. A long pass down the left. McConville flicks on but Donnarumma gathers. The atmosphere is intense all right!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCiao Beppe.\u201d Before kick-off, a minute of silence in honour of former Atalanta, Bologna, Napoli and Italy<\/a> striker Giuseppe Savoldi, who passed away today at the age of 79.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The players take to the field of play \u2026 and yep, the atmosphere is bubbling away, real savage-<\/a>cauldron-like. Anthems. You all know God Save the King. Italy\u2019s is a proper banger, though, and 23,000 blue-scarf-waving Italians \u2013 scarves courtesy of the Italian federation \u2013 belt it out. We\u2019ll be off in a couple of minutes!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.45 EDT<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s game is being played at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d\u2019Italia, Bergamo, the home of Atalanta. Italy<\/a> have never lost here, ever since beating Turkey 7-1 in 1964. They\u2019ve since beaten Malta 5-0 in 1987, drawn 1-1 with Turkey in 2006, drawn 1-1 with the Netherlands in 2020, and thrashed Estonia 5-0 last September. That last one was Gennaro Gattuso\u2019s first game as Italy coach, the hosts going in goalless at the break yet still applauded by the locals, a courtesy that went down well with the new boss. \u201cI chose the stadium,\u201d says Gattuso explained. \u201cI believe that when you go to a stadium like San Siro, there are Inter and Milan fans, and they might start booing after a few wrong passes. Playing in a smaller stadium will likely give us a better atmosphere. We hope to create a real cauldron-like atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Michael O\u2019Neill talks to the BBC. \u201cWith the players we have unavailable, the most important thing was to put as much running power and athleticism in the team \u2026 that\u2019s what we\u2019ve tried to do \u2026 Brodie Spencer on the left hand side \u2026 Justin [Devenny] in a midfield area \u2026 [Ali McCann] did everything possible to be fit but unfortunately didn\u2019t make it \u2026 we\u2019re young \u2026 they\u2019re ready for the occasion, I believe they are \u2026 [Jamie Donley] played well in the Luxembourg game \u2026 he\u2019s a different proposition from the other strikers we have \u2026 he\u2019ll drop into areas and will be difficult for them to play against \u2026 a young player with high potential \u2026 we know what type of game it is \u2026 we\u2019re obviously going to have to be very disciplined \u2026 very good out of possession \u2026 but we can also cause them problems \u2026 particularly in transition \u2026 running power \u2026 get up the pitch \u2026 retain the ball \u2026 we have the players to cause them problems \u2026 we\u2019re obviously delighted to be here at this stage of the competition but we want to go the next step \u2026 there\u2019s a steely determination \u2026 confidence \u2026 belief \u2026 a young team with everything to gain and hopefully they can take that next step.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pre-match postbag. \u201cNorthern Ireland perfectly anagrams into \u2018lend a ninth error\u2019. Italy have played eight matches so far in this World Cup qualification campaign. Just saying\u201d \u2013 krishnamoorthy v<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s gli Azzurri v Norn Iron, Andrea Bocelli v Van Morrison, La Dolce Vita v In the Name of the Father, cappuccino and cornetto v Ulster fry. No matter what happens, I\u2019m sure Italia boss Gennaro Gattuso will set a shining example of calm, dignity and respect\u201d \u2013 Peter Oh<\/p>\n \u201cThis could be real fun. Norn Iron shorn of some top players, all down to the backup now. Italy<\/a> happy to have Tonali back, but given how \u2018well\u2019 Newcastle have been performing recently this could be good or bad news. I don\u2019t think this will make the slightest difference to O\u2019Neill\u2019s game plan. I\u2019m on for a 0-1, any takers ? Should I get down the bookies\u2019 sharpish?\u201d \u2013 Jeremy Boyce<\/p>\n \u201cImagine failing to qualify for three World Cups in a row, eh? What a shower. More seriously, I still remember Scotland getting done in a Euro qualifying playoff against Italy by a goal resulting from an absolute joke of a dive in 2007; so, and somewhat to my own surprise, \u2018mon the six counties!\u201d \u2013 James Humphries (who is referring to the match covered in the MBM that follows, and appears to be still registering B on the old GUARDIAN UNLIMITED PATENTED FUNK-O-METER\u00ae)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pennant Watch. Here\u2019s the slightly fussy trinket Gianluigi Donnarumma will be handing over before kick-off \u2026<\/p>\n Stars (one for each World Cup won) and stripes (one for each tournament missed). Photograph: Claudio Villa\/FIGC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u2026 and the much calmer effort he\u2019ll get back in return from Trai Hume. Italy will play in House of Savoy blue, with Northern Ireland<\/a> in second-choice white.<\/p>\n The IFA not a fan of the hyphen, it would seem. Photograph: Mattia Ozbot\/UEFA\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.44 EDT<\/p>\n Northern Ireland \u2013 who already knew they had to do without two of their biggest stars in captain Conor Bradley and defender Daniel Ballard \u2013 are also missing Ali McCann in midfield. The Preston midfielder hasn\u2019t recovered in time from an injury picked up recently against Coventry City. Ballard\u2019s Sunderland team-mate Trai Hume assumes captaincy duties. It\u2019s a young team, with only Paddy McNair, 31 next month, over the age of 24. Eight are 22 or under.<\/p>\n Italy meanwhile are buoyed by the news that Sandro Tonali is fit to start. Riccardo Calafiori comes back into the side, while Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui pair up at the sharp end.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.46 EDT<\/p>\n The teams<\/p>\n Italy: Donnarumma, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori, Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco, Kean, Retegui. Northern Ireland: Pierce Charles, Hume, McNair, McConville, Devlin, Shea Charles, Galbraith, Devenny, Spencer, Price, Donley. Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n \u201cBout ye, Italy?\u201d To which the only honest answer is surely: we\u2019ve felt better. Because while Italy go into tonight\u2019s 2026 World Cup qualification semi-final with a 100-percent record at home to Northern Ireland<\/a>, they have demons, baggage, and demons carrying baggage containing demons.<\/p>\n You see, the Azzurri are living in ABJECT FEAR OF FAILING TO QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP FINALS FOR THE THIRD SUCCESSIVE TIME, and the implications of that for the four-time winners don\u2019t bear thinking about. And while they\u2019re hot favourites to clear this hurdle tonight, they were hot favourites to see off Sweden in these play-offs for Russia 2018, and hot favourites at home against North Macedonia for Qatar 2022, and look what happened there. So nobody\u2019s taking anything for granted. Oh, and those aforementioned qualification disasters were only the second and third time Italy had ever failed to reach the World Cup<\/a> finals. The first, back in 1958? Well that particular blow was dealt by \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 Northern Ireland! Of course it was. Settle down, children, and allow me to plagiarise myself<\/a> tell you a story.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe Italian national team had a hard time of it for quite a while after the war. The 1948 Superga crash<\/a>, which wiped out Torino, effectively did for the Azzurri too. A depleted team made their way to Brazil for the 1950 World Cup, but only by boat, understandably fearful of air travel. Knackered and unfit coming off the ship, they almost immediately got themselves knocked out. They travelled home by plane.<\/p>\n The 1954 tournament in Switzerland ended abruptly with a 4-1 trouncing at the hands of the hosts. Chile in 1962 was all about the shame of Santiago, though that was nothing on the humiliation North Korea heaped on them in 1966. After which the team won Euro 68 and made it to the final of the 1970 World Cup. All better, then, but by lord those two decades were quite the haul.<\/p>\n Italy only once failed to qualify for the World Cup during that 20-year nadir. (They\u2019d made it to all the others with the exception of the very first one in 1930, a jamboree they didn\u2019t bother to attend, in a fit of pique at being looked over for hosting duties in favour of Uruguay.) That blemish, the first on their qualification record, came in the 1958 series when their side \u2013 containing Uruguay\u2019s 1950 stars Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia \u2013 were bundled out of the competition by a formidable Northern Ireland team not short of a few decently sized names itself in Danny Blanchflower, Harry Gregg and Peter McParland.<\/p>\n The manner of Italy\u2019s exit was nothing short of farcical. The teams were due to play the decisive qualifier at Windsor Park in early December 1957. A victory for the Irish would send them through; Italy needed a draw to put them in a position where a home win in their final game over a dismal Portugal would fire them to the finals in Sweden instead. But referee Istvan Zsolt had been held up en route from Hungary to Belfast by fog in London, and only a local official could be found to replace him. Five minutes before kick-off, it was announced that the game would only be a friendly, causing much bristling in the crowd who, according to the Guardian, seemed \u201cunlikely to forget what they considered to be the intractability of the Italians over match arrangements and left no doubt that they felt they should have agreed to a British referee\u201d. Aye, right you are.<\/p>\n And in fairness, the Italians had a point. Their keeper Ottavio Bugatti was knocked from pillar to post by the likes of McParland, who had form for this sort of nonsense, as those who recall the 1957 FA Cup final would testify. In the final minute of a 2-2 draw, Guiseppe Chiapella leapt at McParland after one charge too many, and was sent off. Not that the Italians had been saints themselves, mind, Chiapella, Schiaffino and Rino Ferrario all taking turns to throw hands in the determined style. At the final whistle, thousands of spectators flooded the field of play with a view to raising Cain. Ferrario was sent crashing to the floor and had to be carted back to the dressing room unconscious.<\/p>\n As it transpired, that result would have been enough for the Italians, who went on to beat Portugal 3-0 before Christmas. But decisions are decisions, and they were forced to go again. In the New Year, the rescheduled qualifier in Belfast was played, and the Irish stormed into a two-goal lead by half-time, Jimmy McIlroy and Wilbur Cush with the goals. Dino Da Costa bundled one back for Italy shortly after the break, but the ghig was up for Italy when Ghiggia, of all folk, was sent off with 25 minutes to go for a physical disagreement with Alf McMichael. Ireland were through, Italy were out, and what an end to a World Cup career for poor Ghiggia, the man who scored the most dramatic and far-reaching goal the tournament has ever seen<\/a>.<\/p>\n But history is one thing, and the present something else entirely. This should be a home banker. Having said that, Italy were thrashed 4-1 at home by Norway in their previous match<\/a>, while Northern Ireland are coming off the back of a 1-0 win over Luxembourg, all of which proves (a) Erling Haaland is one heck of a player, (b) you can only beat who are put in front of you, and (c) a win for the Green and White Army would be seismic. Kick-off is at 7.45pm GMT. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n
Subs: Carnesecchi, Meret, Palestra, Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Raspadori, Pisilli, Esposito, Cristante, Frattesi, Gatti, Scalvini.<\/p>\n
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Hazard, Toal, Atcheson, Saville, Marshall, Kelly, Smyth, Lyons, Reid, Magennis, Brown.<\/p>\n