Italy 2 Northern Ireland 0: Sandro Tonali proves he is World Cup worthy, but are his team?

Italy can breathe again — for now, at least.

A tension-racked evening in Bergamo saw Gennaro Gattuso’s side edge past Northern Ireland in their World Cup play-off semi-final and set up a meeting with Bosnia- Herzegovina on Tuesday.

Second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean proved enough, and while Italy’s performance was far from perfect, it enabled them to take a big step towards this summer’s tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

We analyse the major talking points.

Do Italy look like World Cup contenders?

In the end, it was routine. A 2-0 victory and Northern Ireland largely kept without chances — if this result had occurred in the group stage of a major tournament, it is likely to have been greeted by a nod and a raised eyebrow. Job done, improvements to be made.

What have we learned? It was difficult to draw too many conclusions about Italy’s defence, historically the nation’s great strength, but Northern Ireland’s limitations meant not many questions were asked of a group lacking the big match experience of previous teams.

Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella are an elite duo, even if they did not control Thursday’s game in the manner in which their midfield predecessor, Gennaro Gattuso, might have liked. The tireless wing-back Federico Dimarco was his country’s best performer on the night.

Questions still remain over the strike pairing, even if Moise Kean largely manufactured the most of his chances. It is difficult to see them prospering against the high-class defences of the World Cup favourites.

On the back of this, Italy’s chances at the World Cup, should they progress to the tournament proper, look to rest on the height of their floor rather than the far reaches of their ceiling. The Northern Ireland fixture showed what this squad are right now: a team capable of great moments rather than a great team.

Jacob Whitehead

How crucial is Tonali to Italy?

This was a game searching for a moment of assertiveness; for a player to transcend the uneven quality of the opening hour.

And so as Isaac Price’s clearing header bobbled away, it felt compelled as if by thousands of Italian anxieties towards Sandro Tonali, hovering like a kestrel on the edge of the Northern Irish box.

He swooped towards the ball, by now gently bouncing away from the goal. If the bounce was awkward, the midfielder’s strike did not show it. His half-volley speared into the Northern Ireland net like a dagger plunged into a wooden board, a shot that whistled past Charles before the goalkeeper had any meaningful chance to react.

This has been a strange season for Tonali. A strong performer in a struggling Newcastle United team, he suffered a dead leg against Barcelona last week and missed the club’s derby defeat to Sunderland at the weekend.

Readied, therefore, for Thursday evening’s semi-final, it is easy to forget that Tonali has never appeared for Italy in a major tournament. Passed over by Roberto Mancini for Italy’s Euro 2020 winning squad, part of the failure to qualify at the 2022 World Cup, and suspended for Euro 2024 after admitting to breaching gambling laws, Tonali was that strange thing: a national talisman searching for his signature international moment.

He will not have been thinking about that as he ran towards the corner to celebrate with a face that still bore the frustrations of campaigns past; as he was surrounded by his team-mates, it began to lighten with the promise of a major tournament journey that might, finally, go one better.

Jacob Whitehead

How did Northern Ireland frustrate Italy initially?

Northern Ireland were acutely aware of the challenge they were up against in Bergamo. Their primary remit was to stay in the game for as long as possible. After a breathless start, there were large parts of the first half that saw Michael O’Neill’s side keep Italy at bay.

Setting up in a compact 5-4-1 out of possession, Northern Ireland forced Italy into wide areas and often doubled up to defend any crosses. When the ball was delivered into the penalty area, their three centre-backs were commanding in averting any danger — even if Italy’s forward line did not look at their potent best.

Italy did pose a threat from corners and had some success in playing long balls into Northern Ireland’s left channel in the first half, but the danger was largely snuffed out.

Despite having such a young and inexperienced starting line-up, O’Neill’s side were mature in their approach to slow the game down, win fouls, and manage their way through the game as they calmed the atmosphere down excellently.

Lapses of concentration crept in after the break, with Terry Devlin lucky that his weak backpass was not punished by Mateo Retegui before a naive header from Isaac Price directed the ball straight back into a central area for Sandro Tonali to open the scoring.

It might have been one step too far for Northern Ireland, but they can still be proud of their defensive performance.

Mark Carey

Can Kean solve Italy’s striking issues?

Italy have a history of boasting some of the best forwards in world football.

Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, Simone Inzaghi and friends would walk into this current setup, but Kean does offer a threat at the top end of the field, as he showed with his excellent finish to put Italy 2-0 up in Bergamo.

Considering he has been playing senior football for so long, you would be forgiven for thinking that Kean was older than 26, but he is approaching his peak years for club and country. A tally of 27 Serie A goals for Fiorentina since the start of last season is not to be underestimated, with a respectable international goalscoring record that is close to one-in-two.

If Italy do make it to the World Cup this summer, having Kean as their main man to spearhead their attack might not pose the same threat as yesteryear, but he has shown that he can find the back of the net, whether he plays well or not.

The whole of the Italian side remain unconvincing at times — hence their play-off qualification — and Kean arguably falls into the same category. But a well-taken goal in a crucial game will only serve to build further confidence as Italy look to secure their place in the United States this summer.

Mark Carey

Was this one step too far for Northern Ireland?

This was always likely to be one campaign too early for this Northern Ireland team.

Michael O’Neill’s starting line-up in Bergamo had just one player aged over 24, with eight aged 22 or younger. The unlikely task was made even tougher with the absence of the side’s two star players: Liverpool’s Conor Bradley — another 22-year-old — and Sunderland centre-back Dan Ballard.

Such absentees stretched an already shallow pool of players, but this campaign had plenty of moments of pride, too. They won three group games, the two-goal home victory over Slovakia was Northern Ireland’s best performance for years, and they were more than competitive in two narrow defeats to Germany.

This side are a different beast away from home, where they have won just two of their last 16 competitive games, compared to Belfast, where O’Neill’s side have conceded just once in their last seven qualification matches.

If they can continue that home form, the 2028 European Championship, with 24 slots available, is a real target for a developing group of players.

The big question is whether O’Neill will oversee that. Last month, he took the reins at Championship side Blackburn Rovers until the end of the season. The Irish Football Association point to his international contract running through to the summer of 2028, but fans are more sceptical on his future. O’Neill left the nation for Stoke City six years ago.

O’Neill now has a decision to make. Northern Ireland offers greater job security, an improving squad of young players and the opportunity to cement his status as one of the nation’s greatest managers. Yet the allure of day-to-day management and club football may yet appeal.

Few Northern Ireland fans would want to see O’Neill depart. His continuity may be crucial for hopes of building on this campaign and returning to a major finals.

Colin Millar

What did Gennaro Gattuso say?

The Italy head coach was grateful his side had emerged unscathed from an awkward game as he attempts to take the team to their first World Cup since 2014.

“It was a struggle, this was not at all easy. They even surprised us, trying to make vertical passes, we could’ve done better,” Gattuso told RAI Sport. “We were not developing the play properly or the way we had prepared, but we did well, and it was not to be taken for granted. We knew this game was tough so now we must try to recharge the batteries.”

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