Italy vs Northern Ireland Prediction (26.03.2026)

After failing to secure a direct spot in the World Cup, the Italy team will now have to struggle with playoffs. However, they are undoubtedly a strong favorite in their match against Northern Ireland, which will also be a home game for them, so there is no room for mistakes.

Northern Ireland can be a tough opponent, but their successes usually come against teams of their caliber, while Italy, despite some of their fluctuations, is of a higher class. The last match of the Italian national team a few months ago was a heavy loss to Norway, and that was at home, but excluding the losses to Norway, Italy performed well in their other group matches and won everything else.

Northern Ireland scored only one goal in their last three matches, and that was against Luxembourg. I believe they will not have many chances here and probably won't even score, unless Italy makes mistakes. I expect the hosts to push hard right from the start and lead by halftime, after which they will close out the match.

This text is an AI-assisted translation in English. Link to the original source in Bulgarian ➔