The Italy vs Northern Ireland match will take place at New Balance Arena in Bergamo at 2:45 AM on March 27. The winning team will continue to face Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away on March 31 to compete for a spot to participate in the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
I would lie if I said that when I put my head on a pillow at night, I didn't hear voices echoing'take us to the World Cup, take us to the World Cup'.
I understand that, and I also heard that this is definitely the most important match in my career, even though I have been a coach for a few years. However, I am ready," Gattuso said.
Gattuso was a member of the Italian national team that won the 2006 World Cup. He had the task of reviving the Azzurri team to participate in the biggest football festival on the planet. In the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Italian national team both lost in the play-offs to Sweden and Northern Macedonia. Gattuso did not want that "nightmare" to repeat itself with the Italian national team.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Italian team ranked behind the Norwegian team, thereby having to play in the play-off round. They are rated much higher than the Northern Irish team and also play at home. The Northern Irish team will be missing two important players, Conor Bradley (Liverpool) and Dan Ballard (Sunderland) due to injury.
However, Gattuso is still wary of the opponent. He said: "We must be ready to endure when Northern Ireland continuously crosses the ball into the penalty area. Remember that any free kick will cause their goalkeeper to launch a long shot forward, with eight or nine players showing high determination to compete for the ball to bounce out or bounch up.
We also have to be wary of set pieces. I'm not saying that long balls are their only playing style, but that's their main characteristic, and they do it very well.
Earlier this week, Gattuso revealed that in the past few months, he has traveled throughout Italy and made some overseas trips to have dinner with the players and maintain team spirit.
One of those trips was to Saudi Arabia, where the national team's main striker, Mateo Retegui, is playing under the guidance of coach Brendan Rodgers at Al Qadsiah club.
Before the match against Northern Ireland, Retegui said: "I don't know if'pressure' is the right word to describe my feelings right now.
Right after the match with Norway ended, we all wanted to play this match, so we are very eager to win, wanting to prove to everyone that the team is ready. We want to prove that we are in the best form for this decisive challenge”.
