Bergamo (Italy), March 25 — Italy returns to the World Cup playoffs this week, facing Northern Ireland in a semifinal in Bergamo as one of 16 European teams competing for four remaining places at the expanded 48-team World Cup to be held this summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico. For a nation that lifted the trophy in 2006, the route through the playoffs is a stark reminder of two decades of struggle on the world stage and a tense, make-or-break moment for the Azzurri.
The spotlight on Italy is hard to overstate. After a disastrous title defence in 2010 that produced no wins in the group stage and a 2014 campaign halted early by Uruguay — in the match infamous for Luis Suárez’s bite on Giorgio Chiellini — the Azzurri failed to reach the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, eliminated in European playoffs. A win over Northern Ireland would leave Italy favorites to beat either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the finals, but the backdoor nature of their campaign underscores persistent questions about a four-time world champion.
Elsewhere in the playoffs, Sweden faces war-torn Ukraine in Valencia on neutral ground, with the winner set to host the Poland–Albania tie next week. Sweden’s preparations have been hampered by injuries to key forwards Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski. The appointment of Graham Potter — the former Chelsea and West Ham coach — has been followed by encouragement from the Swedish federation, which recently extended his contract through 2030 after hiring him last year with the specific task of guiding Sweden to the World Cup.
Ukraine continues to play its “home” fixtures abroad. Four years on from the turmoil that prevented a scheduled playoff semifinal in Scotland just weeks after the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine returned to Glasgow in June 2022 to win 3-1 but then lost the playoff final four days later in Wales. The national side remains unable to host matches on its own soil amid ongoing Russian attacks; Russia itself remains banned from international football.
For Poland, much of the narrative centers on Robert Lewandowski, whose 37-year-old career may be approaching a final World Cup opportunity. The Barcelona striker briefly stepped away from the national team last year after being stripped of the captaincy by then-coach Michal Probierz, who resigned following a defeat to Finland. Lewandowski returned under new coach Jan Urban, regained the armband, and has been playing recently with a protective mask after fracturing his left eye socket.
A different success story comes from Kosovo, now two wins from a World Cup berth less than a decade after rejoining international football. Kosovo and Gibraltar were admitted to FIFA in May 2016, eight years after Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence, opening the door for players with family ties to represent the country. Coached by Franco Foda, Kosovo reached a European qualifying playoff semifinal against Slovakia — a first meeting complicated by the fact Slovakia is among several EU members that do not recognise Kosovo. (AP)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/03/26/italy-on-edge-sweden-shorn-of-stars-and-another-chance-for-lewandowski/
Category: SPORTS
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Publish Date: 2026-03-26 06:14:00
