Italy edged closer to reaching a first FIFA World Cup since 2014 as Sandro Tonali led the way in their comfortable win over Northern Ireland.
Sandro Tonali played a starring role in keeping Italy’s World Cup dream alive as his goal and assist helped them earn a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland at New Balance Arena.
Tonali netted a stunning 56th-minute opener before teeing up Moise Kean late on, edging Italy closer to a first appearance at FIFA’s flagship tournament since 2014.
Italy failed to test Pierce Charles in the opening 45 minutes, with Mateo Retegui shooting straight at the visiting goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time from inside the penalty area.
A deflected shot from Riccardo Calafiori was comfortably gathered before Terry Devlin’s poor backpass sent Retegui clean through on goal, but a combination of Charles and Brodie Spencer were able to thwart the Italy number nine.
Moise Kean then forced a brilliant stop from Charles, but Italy’s pressure finally told just before the hour, when Isaac Price’s headed clearance dropped kindly to Tonali, who rifled the ball into the net from just outside the box.
The win was sealed in the 80th minute by Kean, who brilliantly took down Tonali’s looping cross before arrowing a low left-footed strike into the net, with the help of the left post.
King Kean Goes Five for Five
Italy understood the importance of this game, and after their performance here, they will go into next Tuesday’s play-off final with confidence, especially with Kean up front.
He has now scored on each of his last five appearances for Italy (seven goals), becoming the first player to do so for the Azzurri since Salvatore Schillaci in July 1990.
But Tonali also impressed. The Newcastle United midfielder has now netted twice in his last five outings for Italy, as many as in his first 26 matches, while Inter’s Federico Dimarco finished with team-high totals for chances created (four).
Italy were certainly deserving of their win, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.59 from 19 shots, eight of which were on target, compared to Northern Ireland’s 0.47 from just eight attempts.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Italy vs Northern Ireland stats from their UEFA World Cup 2026 play-off semi-final at the New Balance Arena, Bergamo on 26 March 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland Post-Match Facts
Italy have won all eight of their home matches against Northern Ireland in all competitions by an aggregate score of 18-2. Italy have won seven of their last eight competitive matches (L1), one more than in their previous 16 games (D4 L6). Away from home, Northern Ireland have lost 13 of their last 19 matches in all competitions (W3 D3), including defeats in five of their last six matches. Northern Ireland recorded just one shot on target against Italy; their joint-lowest in a game in qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (also one against Germany in September 2025). Moise Kean has scored in each of his last five appearances for Italy (seven goals), becoming the first player for the national team to score in five successive matches since Salvatore Schillaci in July 1990. Since his first goal for Italy against Belgium in November 2024, only Moise Kean (seven) and Mateo Retegui (five) have scored more goals for the national team than Sandro Tonali (four), with two of the four coming from outside the box.Enjoy this? Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland Stats: Tonali Stars in World Cup Play-Off Triumph Opta Analyst.
Hence then, the article about italy 2 0 northern ireland stats tonali stars in world cup play off triumph was published today ( ) and is available on The Analyst ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland Stats: Tonali Stars in World Cup Play-Off Triumph )
Also on site :
- Skip Ballet Flats, Jane Fonda Proved This Elevated Shoe Will Take Over Spring 2026
- Montana Senate candidate says he will introduce bill to draft Graham if elected
- Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence