The Italian national football team kept alive its chance of competing in the 2026 World Cup by beating Israel in a dramatic 5-4 match. The match, held on Monday (9), put the Azzurri back in second place in the group, tied on points with the Israelis, but with one game less.
The two teams will face off on October 14th in Udine, following their match against Estonia. Italy needs to finish first in the group stage to avoid the playoffs, a stage that eliminated them from the last two World Cups—against Sweden and North Macedonia.
Norway leads the group and has the best goal difference
Norway, led by Erling Haaland, took the lead after beating Israel 3-0 in their opening match. According to the newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Norwegians also lead in the main tiebreaker: goal difference. They have +11, compared to Italy's +5.
The direct clash between Italy and Norway will take place on November 16th at the San Siro stadium in Milan. Before that, the Azzurri face Moldova away.
To secure a direct spot in the World Cup, Italy needs to win all of its remaining matches, improve its goal difference and hope that Norway stumbles in at least one game.
If the two teams finish tied on points, the tiebreaker criteria follow this order: goal difference, total goals scored, points won in head-to-head matches, goal difference in head-to-head matches, and goals scored in those matches.
Team shows more desire, but still faces tactical challenges
With Gennaro Gattuso at the helm, Italy has shown more grit in recent games. However, the four-man defense still isn't ideal for the current squad.
Even so, the risk of falling behind Israel — which seemed real before Monday's victory — has been averted, at least for now.
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