Why is Northern Ireland's World Cup play-off in Bergamo?

Italy traditionally play their international matches all around the country, and since the start of 2022 they have played in 11 different home stadiums. The biggest games usually take place at the San Siro in Milan or the Stadio Olimpico in Rome - both of which have a capacity of more than 70,000 - but not for the World Cup play-off semi-final with Northern Ireland. So why have the Italians selected the New Balance Arena, with a capacity of just 24,900 and where they have only played once since 2022, for their biggest game in four years?

"Bergamo and Atalanta are a good example for European football. It's a nice venue and it's an important venue for Italian football," said Italian journalist Daniele Verri. "It's not the San Siro or the Stadio Olimpico, but it can cook.

"It's a small stadium with a nice atmosphere. If the game gets tight then people will make their voices heard. " Serie A side Atalanta play their home games at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo [Getty Images] Since winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy have had a dismal record at the World Cup.

They failed to progress out of the group stages in 2010 and 2014, and did not even qualify for the last two editions of the World Cup after play-off defeats by Sweden and North Macedonia. All this is all the more baffling when you consider they reached were runners-up at the Euros in 2012, made the quarter-finals four years later and won the entire tournament in the delayed 2020 competition. With that in mind, the pressure is on Italy to not become the first World Cup winners to miss out on three tournaments in a row.