Thursday Groupthink: Will Italy actually get past Northern Ireland?
Dare we ask the question? Dare we to discuss any sort of answer to the question? Dare if you must.
Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso during a press conference at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo, Italy. Picture date: Wednesday March 25, 2026. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images We may be an international break, but the usual transfer rumor speculation that comes with no club football for two weeks has been replaced by a very obvious topic of discussion the past four days.
That is because, in case you have completely forgotten or chosen to not go into a spiral of depression, Italy are at risk of not qualifying for the World Cup — again. The past two World Cups have not had the Azzurri in the field of teams competing. Instead, anybody associated with Italy has been sitting at home watching rather than actually competing.
And to make matters worse, it’s not like things are looking all that much better this year — mainly because Thursday night in Bergamo will be either the thing that gets Italy one step closer to qualifying or make it tic-tac-toe three World Cups missed in a row. Italy faces Northern Ireland in the semifinal of their four-team qualification pod. They win this and then it’s a trip to either Walves or Bosnia and Herzegovina to try and get to the World Cup in North America this coming summer.
Can Italy actually do it? And by “it” I mean actually beat Northern Ireland? Can they prevent the downward trajectory of a nation that has won four World Cup titles for at least a little bit?