Northern Ireland face daunting 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final clash in Italy
Northern Ireland have been handed the difficult task of travelling to Italy for their World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final.
Michael O’Neill’s side, who qualified through the Nations League, will face the Italians in the huge tie next March.
Should Northern Ireland win, they could then face another away fixture against Wales for a place in the finals in North America next summer.
However, it is arguably the hardest draw Northern Ireland could have faced, having won just once against the Azzurri in 11 games back in 1958.
The stakes are high for Italy, who have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups.
Craig Bellamy’s Wales will play Bosnia and Herzegovina in their play-off semi-final after securing their place by finishing second behind Belgium in qualifying Group J, and will be the home team for the one-off match.
The Republic of Ireland, who booked their spot in dramatic fashion thanks to a last-gasp victory over Hungary, will play away in the Czech Republic in their semi-final.
The winner of that match will take on either Denmark or North Macedonia.
The chances of both Wales and the Republic were improved by the news they will host play-off finals should they win their first match.
The contests will take place on March 26 and 31.
Four of the remaining qualifiers will come from Europe, with one of Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania coming through path B, while path C features Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo.