Italy 28 players called up for the Northern Ireland, World Cup Playoffs
By Anna Italia
Follow me on X @ItalianSerieA,
Facebook: Anna Italia Page
Instagram: annaitalia2
Italian Soccer Serie A
🇮🇹👉 Italy’s Head Coach Gennaro Gattuso has summoned 28 players for the World Cup playoffs against Northern Ireland. The squad will gather on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio Technical Centre in Coverciano. They are set to compete against Northern Ireland in the playoff semifinal on Thursday, March 26, at 20:45 CET at the Stadio di Bergamo.
The stakes are high for the Azzurri; a victory over Northern Ireland would lead Italy to face the winner of the Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina match for a World Cup spot on Tuesday, March 31, away from home. The two teams that lose in the semifinal of Play-Off Path A (Italy vs. Northern Ireland / Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina) will instead play a friendly on March 31, which the Azzurri would also play away, either in Cardiff or Zenica.
Among the newly called-up players is Marco Palestra, a fresh addition to the squad. Palestra, a defender from Cagliari born in 2005, will make his debut with the senior national team. This call-up also marks the first for Giorgio Scalvini and Niccolò Pisilli under Gattuso, as they have been away since March and November 2024, respectively. Federico Chiesa, the 2021 European champion who has not played for the national team since EURO 2024, will return to don the Azzurri jersey.
🇮🇹 ITALY SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Elia Caprile (Cagliari), Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Alex Meret (Napoli);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Diego Coppola (Paris FC), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Marco Palestra (Cagliari), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Napoli);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Liverpool), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Mateo Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta).
==============================
Ticket option for the Italy National team games
==============================
Here are some facts about Northern Ireland, Italy’s rival.
Northern Ireland, currently ranked 69th in the FIFA Rankings, secured their position by finishing first in Nations League Group C. They ended up third in Qualifying Group A, trailing behind Germany and Slovakia, with a record of three wins and three losses. The two teams have faced each other eleven times, with Italy achieving seven wins, three draws, and one unfortunate defeat—a 2-1 loss on January 15, 1958, in Belfast, which prevented the Azzurri from qualifying for the World Cup. Their latest match, also held in Belfast, concluded in a 0-0 draw during the final qualifier for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which led Italy to the play-offs.
ITALY NATIONAL TEAM STATISTICS IN BERGAMO.
Italy has maintained an unbeaten streak in Bergamo, where they will once again play in front of 23,000 fans, six months after their impressive 5-0 win against Estonia during Gennaro Gattuso’s debut as the National Team coach. The team has played four matches in this city, achieving two 5-0 victories (the other one was against Malta in January 1987) and drawing 1-1 on two occasions (once in a friendly against Turkey in November 2006 and again in the Nations League match against the Netherlands in October 2020).
