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03/26 17:18 CDT Italy beats Northern Ireland 2-0 in World Cup playoff
semifinal. Gykeres gets hat trick for Sweden
Italy beats Northern Ireland 2-0 in World Cup playoff semifinal. Gykeres gets
hat trick for Sweden
By ANDREW DAMPF and JAMES ELLINGWORTH
AP Sports Writers
Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion
needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.
The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half
for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.
"After taking the lead, we cleared our minds," Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso
said. "We put in a good performance. This should be a confidence boost for
Tuesday. ... We have to win. We have no other choice."
Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday were Sweden, Poland,
Turkey, Kosovo and Denmark.
Italy next visits either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina needing another
victory to reach the upcoming tournament in North America and avoid going at
least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer's biggest event.
The Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina game was 1-1 in extra time Thursday, when
Ireland and the Czech Republic also went to extra time --- tied 2-2.
The other finals matchups are: Sweden vs. Poland; Turkey vs. Kosovo; and
Denmark vs. either Czech Republic or Ireland.
Italy was eliminated by Sweden over two winless legs in the playoffs for the
2018 World Cup then was stunned by North Macedonia in the semifinal round in
2022.
Italy's World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed
to advance from its group on both occasions.
The Azzurri's last World Cup knockout match was when they won the title in 2006
by beating France in a penalty shootout.
Italy produced seven shots on goal while Northern Ireland had none.
"We could have done better in the first half. But we showed a lot of
concentration," Gattuso said. "We were very good in the second half. But it
wasn't a given."
Gykeres scores three for Sweden Viktor Gykeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gykeres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign. The game was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn't hosted international games since the Russian invasion of 2022. Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker's bid to reach a third World Cup. Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski's header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski's goal put Poland in front. Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Turkey for a World Cup spot. Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in a Denmark's 4-0 win over North Macedonia.
Lucescu's Romania eliminated In an early match, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and will face either Slovakia or Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002. Turkey took the lead shortly after the break when Ferdi Kadioglu was set up in front of the goal with a long, accurate pass from Arda Guler, a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could become one of the World Cup's younger standouts. Vincenzo Montella's Turkey squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship. Romania's elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won't get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Turkey. Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania in the second half in Istanbul. "We knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly," Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said. "In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind and it became 1-0. From then, it was ours." ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Gykeres scores three for Sweden Viktor Gykeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gykeres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign. The game was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn't hosted international games since the Russian invasion of 2022. Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker's bid to reach a third World Cup. Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski's header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski's goal put Poland in front. Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Turkey for a World Cup spot. Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in a Denmark's 4-0 win over North Macedonia.
Lucescu's Romania eliminated In an early match, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and will face either Slovakia or Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002. Turkey took the lead shortly after the break when Ferdi Kadioglu was set up in front of the goal with a long, accurate pass from Arda Guler, a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could become one of the World Cup's younger standouts. Vincenzo Montella's Turkey squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship. Romania's elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won't get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Turkey. Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania in the second half in Istanbul. "We knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly," Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said. "In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind and it became 1-0. From then, it was ours." ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
