Mar 26, 2026, 05:47 PM ET
Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.
The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.
Vincenzo Montella's Türkiye squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship.
Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled Tuesday were Sweden, Turkey, Kosovo and Denmark.
Italy next visits either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina, needing another victory to reach the upcoming tournament in North America to avoid missing a third-consecutive World Cup.
Italy was eliminated by Sweden over two winless legs in the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup, then was stunned by North Macedonia in the semifinal round in 2022.
Italy's World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed to advance from its group on both occasions.
The Azzurri's last World Cup knockout match was when they won the title in 2006 by beating France in a penalty shootout.
Viktor Gyökeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gyökeres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign.
The game was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn't hosted international games since the Russian invasion of 2022.
Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker's bid to reach a third World Cup.
Albania took the lead through Arbër Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski's header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski's goal put Poland in front.
Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Türkiye for a World Cup spot.
Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in Denmark's 4-0 win over North Macedonia.
Earlier on Thursday, Türkiye beat Romania 1-0 and will face Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002.
Türkiye took the lead shortly after the break when Ferdi Kadioglu was set up in front of the goal with a long, accurate pass from Arda Güler, a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could become one of the World Cup's younger standouts.
Romania's elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won't get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup.
Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania in the second half.
"We knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly," Türkiye captain Hakan Çalhanoglu said. "In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind and it became 1-0. From then, it was ours."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
