Italy v Northern Ireland: where to watch and likely line-ups | OneFootball

Italy begins its journey in the European playoffs for the 2026 World Cup this Thursday at 4:45 p.m. (Brasília time) at the New Balance Arena. The national team faces Northern Ireland in the first of the two knockout rounds that will award a spot in Group B.

The winner will face the winner of the matchup between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina to determine who will join Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland in the World Cup group.

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Where to watch?

The match will be broadcast on Disney+.

How the teams arrive

After finishing second in Group I of the qualifiers, four-time champion Italy is trying to return to the World Cup after missing the last two editions. Meanwhile, modest Northern Ireland has not played in the tournament since 1986 and has only three appearances.

Probable lineups

🟢⚪🔴Italy🔴⚪🟢

Donnarumma; Gatti, Mancini and Buongiorno; Politano, Locatelli, Barella, Fratesi and Dimarco; Kean and Retegui Head coach: Gennaro Gattuso

⚪🔴Northern Ireland🔴⚪

Hazard; Hume, McConville, McNair, Brown and Spencer; Lyons, McDonell and Galbraith; Price and Donley Head coach: Michael O’Neill

Refereeing

Danny Makkelie (NED) will be the referee for the match.

Match details

Matchup: Italy vs. Northern Ireland Competition: European World Cup playoffs (Path B) – Round 1  Date and time: Thursday, March 25, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: New Balance Arena, Bergamo (ITA) Broadcast: Disney+

By Gazeta Press*

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.