Italy’s national team will face Northern Ireland in a crucial World Cup qualifying playoff match. This match, which will be played in March, is the first step in their attempt to reach the tournament, after failing to qualify in the last editions.
The FIFA draw determined that the winner of the match between Italy and Northern Ireland, to be played on March 26, will face the winner of the match between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective is to secure a place in the first World Cup with 48 teams, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Italy, which hasn’t participated in a World Cup since 2014, was relegated to the playoffs after finishing second in its qualifying group, surpassed by Norway.Italia fue relegada a los playoffs al finalizar en segundo lugar en un grupo de clasificación ganado por Noruega.In other European playoff matches, Ukraine will face Sweden, and the winner will play at home against Poland or Albania. Kosovo, in its quest to reach its first World Cup, will begin its journey away from home against Slovakia, followed by a home match against Turkey or Romania.
The prize for Ireland, after their recent victories over Portugal and Hungary, is a playoff semi-final against the Czech Republic, with the winner receiving Denmark or North Macedonia.
FIFA also held the draw for the intercontinental playoffs, which do not involve Europe.
Iraq, which was seeded in the draw, will have to beat Bolivia or Suriname in a single playoff match in March to qualify.
Congo, also a seeded team in the intercontinental playoffs, will play against the winner of the semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
The six intercontinental playoff matches will be played in Mexico from March 23 to 31.
A total of six teams will advance from the March playoffs to complete the 48-nation lineup.
The World Cup draw will be held on December 5 in Washington, D.C., where the six as-yet-unconfirmed playoff teams will be drawn as wild cards.
An Iraqi goal in the 17th minute of stoppage time against the United Arab Emirates secured their place in the playoffs. Iraq’s 2-1 victory in Basra sealed a 3-2 win in the Asian playoff over two legs.
Iraq’s only participation in the World Cup was in 1986. New Caledonia is the team with the lowest ranking in the playoffs, at 149th out of the 211 FIFA member nations.
