From Bergamo to Zenica, dreaming of America. Roared on by a packed out stadium despite the freezing temperature and millions of fans glued to their TVs, Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2–0 thanks to goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean. Tuesday night will bring the final obstacle on the road to the World Cup. Qualification will be decided away from home in a single match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who prevailed on penalties in Cardiff in the other semi-final of Path A of the play-offs against Wales. 

Northern Ireland were tough to break down and found it all too easy to deal with Italy’s slow and predictable play in the first half. The second half brought a much more convincing performance, thanks to the goals from Tonali and Kean. 

Gattuso analysed the match: “It wasn’t easy at all. We could’ve done better in the first half, Locatelli sat too deep and compressed the play, which meant we were building up with a back four. We upped the tempo of the match in the second half and moved the ball quicker. I heard a few whistles in the first half from the crowd, but we came back onto the pitch hearing the applause and support from the fans. I’d like to thank the fans in Bergamo and throughout Italy. Now, it’s time to think about the final”. Sandro Tonali commented on the game too: “We played a very physical side who relied a lot on second balls. There was a bit of tension at the start, but then we relaxed a bit after going ahead. We did well to make the most of our chances”. The evening’s other goalscorer, Moise Kean, also spoke: “We have to remain grounded and focused, we’ve got the second match coming, which is even more important. The fans pushed us when we needed them, it was brilliant playing in front of these fans”. 

NO WAY THROUGH IN THE FIRST HALF. Gattuso started Bastoni and the pairing of Retegui and Kean up top, the two highest scorers in qualification with five and four goals, respectively. They had the task of breaking through the defense of a Northern Ireland side that, as expected, left possession to the Azzurri and set up in a mid-block 5-4-1 when out of possession. There was therefore space to attack in behind the Northern Irish defenders, a specialty of Moise Kean, who burst toward goal and won a corner in the fourth minute. From the set piece, Tonali’s header narrowly missed the post. Shortly after, Tonali again pounced on a diagonal effort from Dimarco that had been saved by Pierce Charles, but Hume beat the Newcastle midfielder to the rebound. Italy pressed forward while Northern Ireland defended with ten men in their own half before looking to break. The result was a tight, congested match in which Dimarco and Politano saw little of the ball and were unable to beat their markers. The Azzurri dominated possession (66% at halftime) and racked up corners, eight in the first 45 minutes, but struggled to create real danger. In the 38th minute, Kean tried his luck after meeting Retegui’s aerial lay-off, but he fired over, and shortly after Bastoni headed wide. The second shot on target came in the 46th minute, when Retegui’s effort was easily gathered by Charles. Italy were too predictable, and the 0–0 at halftime was a fair reflection of a tense, intense match lacking in clear-cut chances.

TONALI TAKES CONTROL. The team needed to shift gears, and chants of “Italia, Italia” rose from the stands to rally the Azzurri, with the Bergamo crowd acting as the twelfth man. A misplaced back pass from Devlin opened up a clear path for Retegui, but his poor touch allowed Charles to come out and collect it. The Northern Irish goalkeeper repeated himself shortly after, diving to deny Kean’s diagonal effort, but he could do nothing in the 56th minute to deny Tonali’s powerful right-footed strike, as he latched onto a defensive clearance and fired Italy into the lead from the edge of the box. It was a priceless goal from the former AC Milan player, his fourth for the national team. Gattuso then replaced the booked Bastoni with Gatti and Retegui with Pio Esposito, who, moments after coming on, played Kean through on goal, only for him to be blocked by Charles. From Dimarco’s corner, Pio Esposito rose highest, but Hume once again cleared off the line.

KEAN SEALS IT. Moise Kean wrapped things up. The Fiorentina striker first came close to scoring with a spectacular overhead kick, then doubled the lead by making the most of another assist from Tonali: a controlled touch in the box, a tight dribble, and a clinical left-footed finish into the far corner. With the result secured, Gattuso gave Tonali a rest, bringing on Pisilli in his place, and handed a debut to Palestra, who immediately impressed with a difficult piece of control near the byline. The final applause at the Bergamo stadium was for Moise Kean, replaced by Jack Raspadori. Italy would still need him—on Tuesday in Zenica, a place at the World Cup was at stake, and now just ninety minutes separated Italy from their dream.

ITALY 2-0 NORTHERN IRELAND (0-0 HT)

ITALY (3-5-2): Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni (63’ Gatti), Calafiori; Politano (82’ Palestra), Barella, Locatelli, Tonali (82’ Pisilli), Dimarco; Retegui (63’ Esposito), Kean (87’ Raspadori).
Unused subs: Carnesecchi, Meret, Spinazzola, Buongiorno, Cristante, Frattesi, Scalvini.
Head Coach: Gattuso.

NORTHERN IRELAND (3-5-1-1): P. Charles; Hume, McNair, McConville; Devlin (67’ Smyth), S. Charles. Galbraith, Devenny, Spencer (80’ Reid); Price; Donley (80’ Magennis).
Unused subs: Peacock-Farrell, Hazard, Toal, Atcheson, Saville, Marshall, Kelly, Lyons, Brown.
Head Coach: O’Neill.

Referee: Makkelie (The Netherlands); Assistants: Steegstra and de Vries (The Netherlands); Fourth official: Gil Manzano (Spain); VAR: van Boekel (The Netherlands); AVAR: Manschot (The Netherlands).

Scorers: 56’ Tonali (I), 80’ Kean (I)
 

WORLD CUP PLAY-OFFS

SEMI-FINALS (26 MARCH)

Wales 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-4 on pens)

Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland

FINAL (31 MARCH)

20:45 CEST : Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Ital (Zenica)