Italy national team don finally get one big win for dia World Cup 2026 qualifier match against Northern Ireland for Bergamo stadium. Di game wey play for Thursday, March 26, 2026, end 2-0 for Italy side, with Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United score di first goal for 56th minute. Moise Kean from Fiorentina add di second goal for 80th minute to seal di victory.
Di match na part of UEFA World Cup playoff semi-final wey Italy need to win to qualify for di tournament after dem miss last two World Cups. Di pressure dey high for di Azzurri as dem face Northern Ireland for New Balance Arena for Bergamo, Italy. Di win mean Italy go now face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina for di final playoff match for Tuesday.
Sandro Tonali, di midfielder wey play for Newcastle United for England Premier League, score di important first goal after one clearance fall for im feet. Im fire one low drive wey pass Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pierce Charles from Sheffield Wednesday. Di goal come after first half wey end 0-0 with Italy fans dey jeer dia players for poor performance.
For di second half, Italy coach make changes with Alessandro Bastoni from Inter and Mateo Retegui from Al-Qadsiah come out for Federico Gatti from Juventus and Francesco Pio Esposito from Inter. Di changes help Italy control di game better before Moise Kean score di second goal to kill di match.
Northern Ireland team wey get young players try dia best but no fit equal Italy quality. Di visitors get chance for 69th minute when Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Manchester City make bad pass wey give Jamie Donley from Oxford United opportunity, but im no control di ball well.
For other playoff matches wey play same time, Turkey don already beat Romania 1-0 to qualify for final. Denmark beat North Macedonia 4-0, Poland beat Albania 2-1, Slovakia lose to Kosovo 2-4, Ukraine lose to Sweden 0-3, and Wales beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0.
Meanwhile, for Newcastle United side, club officials don talk say Sandro Tonali no go leave di club easily for summer transfer window. Reports say Manchester United dey plan to bid for di midfielder, but Newcastle chiefs insist dem dey in control of Tonali future.
Tonali get contract with Newcastle until 2028 with option for another year, and no release clause dey for im agreement. Newcastle officials describe reports say Tonali go leave if club no qualify for Europe as “totally untrue.” Di issue come from Tonali agent Giuseppe Riso wey talk say im client goal na to become “star player” for England and maybe move to clubs like Manchester City or Arsenal after World Cup.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe don talk say Tonali dey “totally committed” to di club and im dey frustrated with constant reports about im players leaving. Howe describe suggestions say Bruno Guimaraes dey in “advanced talks” with Manchester United as “disrespectful.” Newcastle don get no approaches for any dia players ahead of summer market.
Tonali himself don express interest to join Newcastle leadership group next season after Jamaal Lascelles leave. Im talk say e go try im best to help every player for pitch even though English no be im first language.
For di Italy vs Northern Ireland match, di home team start with Donnarumma as captain, plus Gianluca Mancini from Roma, Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori from Arsenal, Matteo Politano from Napoli, Nicolo Barella from Inter, Manuel Locatelli from Juventus, Tonali, Federico Dimarco from Inter, Kean, and Retegui.
Northern Ireland start with Pierce Charles in goal, Trai Hume from Sunderland as captain, Ruairi McConville from Norwich City, Paddy McNair from Hull City, Terry Devlin from Portsmouth, Shea Charles from Southampton, Justin Devenny from Crystal Palace, Brodie Spencer from Oxford United, Ethan Galbraith from Swansea City, Isaac Price from West Bromwich Albion, and Jamie Donley.
Di match referee na from UEFA and di game dey stream live for ViX platform via Prime Video. Italy fans dey hope say dis victory go mark beginning of dia return to World Cup after missing 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
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