FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

FT Thursday, March 26, 2026
Northern Ireland LWLLW 0
–
Italy WWWWL 2
1st2ndT
NIR000
ITA022
New Balance Arena · 23,439 att.

Match Report

Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images

Tonali, Kean score as Italy see off Northern Ireland to reach playoff final

Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored for Italy to send them to the UEFA Path A World Cup playoff final.

Full story at ESPN →

Team Stats

8
Fouls
11
0
Yellow Cards
1
0
Red Cards
0
0
Offsides
2
3
Corner Kicks
12
5
Saves
1
37.4
Possession
62.6
8
SHOTS
19
1
ON GOAL
8
0.1
On Target %
0.4
0
Penalty Goals
0
0
Penalty Kicks Taken
0
236
Accurate Passes
423
311
Passes
504
0.8
Pass Completion %
0.8
2
Accurate Crosses
11
10
Crosses
34
0.2
Cross %
0.3
60
Long Balls
53
28
Accurate Long Balls
29
0.5
Long Balls %
0.5
3
Blocked Shots
5
7
Effective Tackles
9
17
Tackles
10
0.4
Tackle %
0.9
13
Interceptions
8
38
Effective Clearances
24
38
Clearances
24

Highlights

02:07 Marcotti: Relief for Italy after crucial win Watch on ESPN

Head to Head

ITA leads series 3-0-2

Lineups

ITA · 3-5-2

  1. 1Gianluigi DonnarummaG
  2. 21Alessandro BastoniCD
  3. 13Riccardo CalafioriCD-L
  4. 23Gianluca ManciniCD-R
  5. 8Sandro TonaliCM-L
  6. 18Nicolò BarellaCM-R
  7. 5Manuel LocatelliAM
  8. 3Federico DimarcoLM
  9. 7Matteo PolitanoRM
  10. 9Mateo ReteguiCF-L
  11. 11Moise KeanCF-R

NIR · 5-4-1

  1. 23Pierce CharlesG
  2. 17Paddy McNairCD
  3. 13Ruairi McConvilleCD-L
  4. 5Trai HumeCD-R
  5. 20Brodie SpencerLB
  6. 2Terry DevlinRB
  7. 7Ethan GalbraithCM-L
  8. 19Shea CharlesCM-R
  9. 14Isaac PriceLM
  10. 15Justin DevennyRM
  11. 10Jamie DonleyF

Timeline

  1. 56' Goal! Italy 1, Northern Ireland 0. Sandro Tonali (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner.
  2. 58' Alessandro Bastoni (Italy) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  3. 63' Substitution, Italy. Federico Gatti replaces Alessandro Bastoni.
  4. 64' Substitution, Italy. Francesco Pio Esposito replaces Mateo Retegui.
  5. 68' Substitution, Northern Ireland. Paul Smyth replaces Terry Devlin.
  6. 79' Substitution, Northern Ireland. Jamie Reid replaces Brodie Spencer.
  7. 79' Substitution, Northern Ireland. Josh Magennis replaces Jamie Donley.
  8. 80' Goal! Italy 2, Northern Ireland 0. Moise Kean (Italy) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Sandro Tonali.
  9. 83' Substitution, Italy. Marco Palestra replaces Matteo Politano.
  10. 83' Substitution, Italy. Niccolò Pisilli replaces Sandro Tonali.
  11. 88' Substitution, Italy. Giacomo Raspadori replaces Moise Kean.

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