Italy will face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday, as Wales and the Republic of Ireland suffered agonising penalty shoot-out defeats in their qualifying play-off semi-finals.
Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean struck second-half goals in Bergamo to keep four-time World Cup winners Italy on track to end a 12-year absence from the tournament.
Italy missed the last two editions in Russia and Qatar but Tonali’s powerful drive and an excellent finish from Kean nudged Gennaro Gattuso’s team a step closer to a return to international football’s biggest stage.
“We had to work hard because it was not easy tonight,” Gattuso said. “We knew this game would be tough, all we can do now is try to recharge the batteries.”
Italy will take on Bosnia in Zenica next Tuesday.
A late header from 40-year-old Edin Dzeko cancelled out Dan James’ superb opener for Wales and forced extra-time in Cardiff, where Bosnia scraped through 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.