finally won a match in the . Now the four-time champion needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.
The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.
鈥淎fter taking the lead, we cleared our minds,鈥� Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. 鈥淲e put in a good performance. This should be a confidence boost for Tuesday. 鈥� We have to win. We have no other choice.”
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 another victory to reach the upcoming tournament in North America and avoid going at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer鈥檚 biggest event.
Bosnia beat Wales, and the Czech Republic beat Ireland in penalty shootouts.
The other finals matchups are: Sweden vs. Poland; Turkey vs. Kosovo; and Denmark vs. the Czech Republic.
Italy was eliminated by over two winless legs in the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup then was stunned by in the semifinal round in 2022.
Italy鈥檚 World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed to advance from its group on both occasions.
The Azzurri鈥檚 last World Cup knockout match was when 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 set up Kean, who made an expert control and finish.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have many moments of quality, but we did well to make the most of them when we did,鈥� Tonali said. 鈥淲e focused on not giving them their strengths and were concentrated on the set plays, so when we do that, it鈥檚 unlikely we鈥檒l concede to this kind of team.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been feeling positive since the coach arrived, we鈥檝e got to continue like this, there鈥檚 no other option but to win,鈥� Tonali said of Gattuso, who replaced the fired Luciano Spalletti in June.
Gy枚keres scores three for Sweden
Viktor Gy枚keres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gy枚keres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign.
The game was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn鈥檛 hosted international games since the Russian invasion of 2022.
鈥淰iktor Gy枚keres made the difference tonight,鈥� Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov said. 鈥淗e showed his quality and proved he鈥檚 one of the best strikers in Europe.鈥�
Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker鈥檚 bid to reach a third World Cup.
Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski鈥檚 header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski鈥檚 goal put Poland in front.
Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Turkey for a World Cup spot.
Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in a Denmark鈥檚 4-0 win over North Macedonia.
Bosnia and Czechs win penalty shootouts
Bosnia advanced after 40-year-old Edin Dzeko leveled the score and 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic converted the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Wales following a 1-1 draw.
The Czech Republic awaits next for Denmark after beating Ireland 4-3 on penalties. Ireland gave up an early 2-0 lead in the game, and was also leading the shootout before failing to convert either of its last two attempts.
Lucescu’s Romania eliminated
In an early match, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and will 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 set up in front of the goal with a long, accurate pass from , a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could become one of the World Cup’s younger standouts.
Vincenzo Montella鈥檚 Turkey squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship.
Romania鈥檚 elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won鈥檛 get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Turkey.
Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania in the second half in Istanbul.
鈥淲e knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly,” Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said. “In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind. … From then, it was ours.鈥�
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