Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso hopes Serie A games on the weekend before the World Cup play-offs will be moved to give him more time to prepare for a semifinal against Northern Ireland.The Azzurri will

The actual World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 before these UEFA matches, so the teams will know what World Cup group they're trying to land a spot in. The four UEFA playoff berths will be in Pot 4 of the World Cup draw, which could potentially lead to a "Group of Death."

The draw for March’s play-offs was made on Thursday, pitting four-time World Cup winners Italy against Northern Ireland. If they come through that single-leg home semi-final, they will travel to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina for their bracket’s final a few days later.

Italy have reached the Under-17 World Cup semi-final for the first time in 38 years and will face Austria after eliminating Burkina Faso 1-0.The Azzurrini had won all of their games so far in the

Those groups played out a full home-and-away round-robin across the September, October and November international breaks with the three group winners Panama, Haiti and Curacao off to the World Cup, and the best two runners-up – Jamaica and Suriname – heading to the intercontinental play-offs.

Italy block the qualification path for Wales and Northern Ireland when it comes to reaching the 2026 World Cup, while the Republic of Ireland will face Czechia in the play-off semi-finals. There are four more places at FIFA's flagship event up for grabs in the UEFA section,

Germany have moved into ninth place ahead in the latest FIFA men's rankings ahead of the 2026 World Cup draw, likely sealing a place in Pot 1 for the draw.

Ex-Italy international Marco Materazzi predicts a ‘tough’ game for the Azzurri against Northern Ireland but refuses to complain about the qualification format: ‘It’s also our fault.’Italy

Preview Italy vs Burkina Faso in the FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals with TV info, start time, and key storylines ahead of kickoff.