Italy one win away from returning to FIFA World Cup since 2014

Italy moved within one win of ending their 12-year World Cup absence with a 2-0 qualification playoff semi-final 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.

"I felt the whole country was on my shoulders," Kean told Sky Sports about his goal. "There is one more game to go, we need one more step, but we are feeling positive and need to keep going."

The four-time world champions will on Tuesday face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the tournament in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in June-July.

Under Pressure
Pressure was high on Gennaro Gattuso’s side following Italy’s omission from the last two World Cups, with the manager opting to move the match from Milan’s San Siro to the more intimate surroundings of Atalanta’s Stadium, admitting he feared the "caustic" atmosphere of a larger venue.

“There was some tension at the start of the second half, but after taking the lead, we really started to feel free of pressure with our mentality,” Tonali said.

After failing to score in a 1-0 aggregate playoff defeat to Sweden in 2017 and suffering a shock semi-final loss to North Macedonia in 2022, the hosts 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 hosts, 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 their quest to reach a first World Cup since 1986 had reached a disappointing end.

Gattuso admitted the contest had taken its toll on his side after the high-stakes encounter.

"It’s difficult, we knew this game was tough too, so now we must try to recharge the batteries," he told Rai Sport.

"It was a struggle, this was not at all easy. They even surprised us by trying to make vertical passes; we could’ve done better," he added, before praising the home support.

"We thank the fans of Bergamo once again. I heard very few jeers and we went into the locker room at halftime to applause. I thank the people here and now we go together into this final."