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Italy v Northern Ireland: World Cup playoff – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
Key events
69 min: Calafiori romps down the left touchline, keeping the ball in play wonderfully, then cuts back infield for Dimarco, in space just to the left of the D. Dimarco takes a heavy touch and can’t get a shot away. He should have been working Pierce Charles at the very least.
68 min: Northern Ireland make their first change, and it’s an attacking one: Smyth comes on for Devlin.
66 min: Esposito sprays a first-time pass down the inside-right channel for Kean to barrel after. Kean enters the box and whip-cracks a low shot towards the bottom right. Pierce Charles gets down to parry, and McNair clears the loose ball. That’s Italy’s sixth attempt on target; Northern Ireland are yet to manage one.
64 min: Italy make a double change. Bastoni, who could easily have been sent off, is hooked before he actually is. Retegui takes his leave as well. On come Esposito and Gatti.
62 min: Hume fires a throw in from the right. The ball’s half cleared, and Galbraith returns a volley over the bar. But the whistle goes for a foul in the box anyway.
61 min: Italy have enjoyed 63 percent of possession since the restart. The goal had been coming, even if it wasn’t in the postal system for long. “Zola would undoubtedly have featured more for Italy if his direct competitors hadn’t been Roberto Baggio early on, and then Alessandro Del Piero,” notes Kári Tulinius. “Italy had some forwards in the 90s. How today’s Azzurri could use a forward of half that calibre.”
59 min: Bastoni is booked for a cynical tug on an in-flight Donley. Bastoni could easily have been yellow-carded for that yank on Price (51 min) so Northern Ireland have cause for complaint here. Should Italy be down to ten?
58 min: Northern Ireland were beginning to dream. And that huge miss from Retegui will have got them thinking: is this our evening? But Italy came again through Kean, then again via Politano, and what a finish that was by Tonali. Bergamo en fête!
GOAL! Italy 1-0 Northern Ireland (Tonali 56)
Italy had suddenly turned up the heat, and they’ve got their reward! Politano crosses from the right. Price, under pressure from Kean, heads weakly to the edge of the D. Tonali meets the dropping ball and pearls a low drive into the bottom right! Such a sweet strike, and Pierce Charles had no chance. The stadium erupts!
55 min: … and nothing comes of the corner. But …
54 min: That’s got Italy’s tail up, though, and here they come again. Kean opens his legs down the inside-right channel and whistles a fine low diagonal drive towards the bottom left. It’s heading in, but Pierce Charles extends fully to fingertip around the post! Two huge saves in a minute!
53 min: A huge chance for Italy, as Retegui latches onto Devin’s dismal backpass and tears clear down the middle. But, under pressure from Spencer on his shoulder, Retegui takes a heavy touch, allowing Pierce Charles to spring forward and smother at his feet!
52 min: The free kick is pumped into the Italian box, and earns a rare corner for Northern Ireland. That’s sent in my Galbraith, and Donnarumma flaps in an unconvincing fashion. But he does just enough to clear.
51 min: Politano has probably been Italy’s best player, though the bar is set low. He crosses from the right, hoping to find Kean or Retegui in the middle. McNair clears. Italy come again. Kean goes over. No penalty, though Italy claim for one. Northern Ireland counter. Bastoni brings down an in-flight Price, and this is a free kick in a central position, 30 yards out. It is all happening.
50 min: Tonali crosses from the right. Kean can’t connect. The ball’s half-cleared to Calafiori, who under instruction from an anxious crowd takes a whack from distance. The ball bobbles through to Pierce Charles.
49 min: Bastoni miskicks a simple clearance. Then Donnarumma nearly allows Donley to close him down. The home fans do not enjoy this passage of play. Nerves the top note.
48 min: Some head tennis on the edge of the Italy box. Hume brings the ball under control, sort of, juggling it a la Best before looping a volley over the bar. And well wide.
46 min: Tonali bumbles his way down the left wing and falls over in the general environs of Hume. He claims a free kick that he’s never going to get. Gennaro Gattuso throws his arms open wide in the performative fashion. A bit early for all this.
Italy get the second half started. No changes. “Great to see Gianfranco Zola on the BBC TV coverage,” writes Andrew Goudie. “One of my favourite players ever. How did he only get 35 caps for Italy?”
Half-time postbag. “I think Michael O’Neill is a terrific international manager (can’t speak to his work at clubs) and I’d love to see him at a post where he had more to work with – maybe someplace such as the Czech Republic, or Morocco, or even Uruguay once Bielsa’s time passes, as it always seems to” – Brad Wilson
“I once took a holiday let in Bergamo – absolutely lovely city, and I had a very pleasant time, thank you. Anyway: my flat was three floors up, and the landlord very carefully explained to me, at some length, how the lift worked. My Italian was of the rudimentary food-ordering variety, so the finer details passed me by. It turned out that the lift for some obscure reason only had enough juice for a certain number of trips throughout the day, and if you were unlucky enough to arrive after the ration had been expended, you had to take the stairs. My misfortune was to get in the damn thing just on the cusp of it running out of power, hence a longish period in the doldrums to the locals’ amusement. There may be some moral here for the Northern Ireland team; we shall see” – Charles Antaki
Half-time reading. Just so we know where everyone is.
HALF TIME: Italy 0-0 Northern Ireland
The hosts depart to a few whistles and a lot of concerned muttering. A third successive qualification failure still a very real possibility. Northern Ireland will be delighted, though they’ll also be aware that Estonia held Italy here at the break last autumn, and went on to lose 5-0.
45 min +1: Retegui can’t get a shot away from a tight angle on the right. Northern Ireland counter, and Donley drags a shot wide right. This is getting very scrappy, and it will surely suit the visitors more than the hosts.
45 min: A brouhaha in the middle of the park as Galbraith slides in on Mancini. It could be a booking, but isn’t. Bastoni arrives on the scene and tries to take Donley by the throat. The referee, livid, splits everyone apart and issues an animated bollocking. But no card. Everyone involved slightly fortunate.
44 min: A bit of space for Devlin, 30 yards from goal. He should feed Hume to his right, but takes a whack himself. Wrong decision. Then another wrong decision from the young Pompey man, who hoicks a cross from the right out for a goal kick. Again he had options in the middle.
42 min: Politano has looked fairly lively, to be fair. He turns on the jets and makes good down the right, winning yet another Italian corner. Dimarco whips viciously to the near post, where Bastoni flicks inches over the bar. That would have certainly worked Pierce Charles had it been on target.
40 min: Tonali shovels a pass down the inside-right channel in the hope of releasing Mancini into a pocket of space. McNair comes across to snuff out the move. The Italians are creating very little.
38 min: Italy, out of ideas for now at least, knock it long. Kean battles to make something out of very little, and from the right-hand edge of the D, lashes high and wide. It’s an effort at least. Italy haven’t had many of them.
36 min: Donnarumma clanks a simple pass out of play for a throw down the right. From the throw, McNair sends a curler into the Italian mixer. McConville competes for a header, eight yards out, but Politano clears. A suggestion of handball, but like the Italian enquiry earlier, there’s nothing in it.
34 min: … but the throw, when it’s eventually taken, leads to a corner down the right. And from that, Bastoni’s header is deflected wide by Spencer. Another corner leads to a free kick, which again releases the pressure. But Italy are starting to apply it with regularity again.
33 min: Italy are certainly getting frustrated. Price stops Barella gathering the ball for a quick throw, slapping it away from his hand. Barella had shoved Price seconds before. Some beneficial advice from the referee as both men square up. Everyone simmers down soon enough.
32 min: Tonali crosses from the left but Kean heads harmlessly wide. Pierce Charles takes his sweet time over the goal kick, much to the annoyance of the home fans. We’re at this point already, it would seem.
30 min: This corner leads to some bedlam, but Kean can’t work enough space to shoot, and eventually the ball clanks off the referee, who is obliged to stop play. A slightly lucky break for Northern Ireland there, because they were struggling to clear their lines, and it was the first time Italy had looked dangerous for a wee while.
29 min: … but there’s absolutely nothing that’s happened there. VAR check over, in short order. But Italy come again, winning another corner, this time down the right.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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