Chiesa ruled out, will miss Italy’s World Cup play-off | OneFootball

The forward Federico Chiesa was cut from the Italy national team due to not being in physical condition to play in the 2026 World Cup playoff match against Northern Ireland, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced this Monday (23).

The Liverpool player “was not considered available for the next two matches,” noted the FIGC, referring to Thursday's semifinal against Northern Ireland and a potential final next week against Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Pressure on the four-time world champion

Four-time world champion, Italy will face Northern Ireland in Bergamo under pressure to advance in the playoffs to avoid missing the World Cup for the third consecutive edition.

The FIGC did not specify Chiesa's injury, the latest in a long list that has hindered the career of one of the recent great talents of Italian football.

Chiesa's recent history and replacement

The forward, a substitute at Liverpool, was one of the stars of the ‘Squadra Azzurra’ in the Euro 2021 title but has not played for the national team since the disappointing campaign in Euro 2024.

Nicolo Cambiaghi, from Bologna, was called up to replace Chiesa, while defender Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan and forward Gianluca Scamacca from Atalanta are trying to recover from injuries before Thursday's game.

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*Content produced by AFP

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