The Italian team defeated Northern Ireland and advanced to the A tournament final.

2026-03-26 23:36 © scanpix

The Italy national team is one step away from the World Cup.

Gennaro Gattuso's squad defeated the Northern Ireland team 2-0 at the Bergamo stadium and advanced to the final of the European qualifying tournament A.

The first half of the match was quite dull, and the hosts struggled to seriously threaten their opponents' goal.

The situation on the field changed in the second half.

In the 56th minute, A. Tonali's excellent long-range shot put the Italians ahead (1-0).

In the 80th minute, M. Keane deceived the opponents in the penalty area and sealed Italy's victory – 2-0.

In the final of the qualifying tournament A, the Italians will face the winner of the match between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina.