Italy v Northern Ireland: Will there be a historic upset in 2026 World Cup play-off?

As a player, Gattuso did not sleep before big games. It’s similar now he is a manager and he now has the aid of sleeping pills from his doctor.

Otherwise, he says, “at 4.30 or 5am I wake up and I’m wide-eyed like a bat”.

Gattuso is carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders. It’s a big responsibility.

The former AC Milan midfielder stepped into the role to replace Luciano Spalletti in June, and has won five of his six matches.

“I’ve been coaching for a number of years now, but certainly tomorrow’s game is the most important fixture of my coaching career so far,” said Gattuso on Wednesday.

“I’m prepared and, believe me, I’m not thinking about things going badly, I’m thinking positively.

“I want to think big, and we certainly will compete and we’ll see how things come out.”

He has admiration from O’Neill, who in 2012 was tasked with a similar job of trying to lift a Northern Ireland side at a low point.

Four years later they qualified for the Euros.

“The pressure of managing Italy is a lot different from the pressure of managing Northern Ireland,” O’Neill said.

“I have admiration for him coming in and taking the job at the time that he did, after the previous manager leaving after two games and then having to try to reverse a poor result in the first game for Italy away in Norway.

“I have great admiration for what he did as a player and, obviously, the job he’s done as a coach as well.”