Italy v Northern Ireland: From ‘risky’ to ‘hero’ – Can Gennaro Gattuso guide the Azzurri back to World Cup?

After their play-off heartbreak for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Italy face another nerve-wracking route to the finals.

No former winner of the World Cup has missed out on the finals three times in a row. Italy must do it the hard way if they are to avoid an unwanted piece of history.

The Azzurri host Northern Ireland – a tie they will be favourites to win – in Bergamo on 26 March, and the winner of that semi-final will visit Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina in their bid to qualify for the finals, where they would join co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar in Group B.

“It won’t be easy, not at all,” sad Verri, who added there is an issue “with the speed of the game” in Italy.

“I don’t think Northern Ireland are a better side than Italy, but it will not be easy with their speed and determination, and it would not be easy against Wales or Bosnia.

“We definitely have the quality to go through, but we have to be careful in a one-off game.”

For Gattuso, the play-off could also define whether he is the long-term option for one of Europe’s heavyweights.

Lose and “it could be time to rethink again”, but win and he could be the “hero” who brought Italy back to the biggest stage.

“Italy have four World Cups, so there is still an expectation to be competitive in every game,” Verri said.

“People cannot be happy with the situation and how it is, but it’s not with Gattuso.

“If he doesn’t qualify then it might be tricky for him, but if we qualify we would be very happy and Gattuso would be much beloved in the country.”