Italy did not fail in the first round of the playoffs to secure World Cup qualification. The semifinal in Bergamo against Northern Ireland ended 2-0, with goals from Tonali and Kean , both in the second half. On Tuesday, the decisive match against Bosnia , who beat Wales on penalties in the other semifinal, takes place.
LINE-UPS – For the match at the Gewiss Stadium against the Azzurri d'Italia, Gattuso will start Donnarumma; Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco; Kean, and Retegui.
O'Neill replies with P. Charles; Hume, McNair, McConville; Devlin, Devenny, S. Charles, Galbraith, Spencer; Price, and Donley. Dutchman Danny Makkelie officiates.
FIRST HALF – After a minute's silence for Beppe Savoldi, the historic Bologna and Napoli striker who died at the age of 79, the match quickly got underway: the game was played at a good pace, with the Azzurri trying to control the game, but chances were few and far between in the first twenty minutes. Only Tonali and Kean had good chances, but they couldn't capitalize, due to Northern Ireland's careful coverage. On the half-hour mark, Politano played a good cross from the right, but Dimarco's effort was deflected out for a corner. Retegui then attempted a shot, but it was blocked. In the 38th minute, the Azzurri made their first real attempt on goal, with Kean firing over. At the end of the half, Bastoni had a header from a corner, but the Inter defender missed the target. Then Retegui had a chance, but it was also unsuccessful. It wasn't enough to worry Charles.
SECOND HALF – In the second half, Italy continued to dominate possession, attempting to find openings in the tightly packed opposition defense. Retegui had a superb opportunity in the 55th minute: a mistake by the opposition defense resulted in the striker running alone, but Charles, coming out, denied him the chance to fire home. The Azzurri immediately had another chance, through Kean, but the Northern Irish goalkeeper again denied him. Italy, however, was on fire and took the lead in the 56th minute, with Tonali collecting a rebound from the edge of the area and unleashing a shot that beat Charles to make it 1-0. In the 66th minute, Italy almost doubled their lead: Pio Esposito, a freshly substituted pass to Kean, but the Fiorentina striker fired home without causing too much trouble for the opposition goalkeeper. In the 73rd minute, Hume cleared Esposito's header, then Barella sent the ball soaring. In the final 15 minutes, the Azzurri continued to search for the knockout blow. In the 79th minute, Barella plays a soft ball from the right, and Kean unleashes a stunning overhead kick, which goes wide. But Moise is on fire and makes it 2-0 seconds later: he controls a long ball from Tonali, dribbles with his right foot, and then fires a left-footed shot that hits the post before scoring.
In the 83rd minute, Gattuso gave Palestra his senior national team debut, with the Cagliari winger replacing Politano. Italy slowed down towards the end and contained the opponent's final bursts, and after three minutes of injury time, they were able to celebrate the victory.
(Unioneonline)