Second place in group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers behind Norway will force Italy to play for the pass in two straight playoff rounds: a semi-final to face a fourth-tier team and a final against one of the winners of the clashes between second and third-tier teams. Given the precedents, there are many bugaboos for Gattuso: in the possible second match the dangers would be Poland, Wales, Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the first match on the Azzurri’s path there will be one between Macedonia, Romania, Northern Ireland and Sweden. And in matches against three of these four, Italy has failed to qualify for the World Cup in the past…
