Italy's national team: Who will score for the Azzurri?

If they fail to score in the upcoming playoff round, it is almost certain that Italy will be absent from the 2026 World Cup. But who will score for the Azzurri, given that coach Gennaro Gattuso has a forward line that seems problematic in every aspect.

It must be emphasized that Gattuso's Italy does not play as pragmatically as many imagined when the former Milan player was appointed nine months ago. In six matches under Gattuso (all in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers), Italy scored a total of 19 goals, averaging 3.2 goals per match, a fairly reliable performance.

The playoff goal obsession

But let's look at which opponents those goals were scored against: 8 goals in two matches against Israel, 8 goals in two matches against Estonia, 2 goals against Moldova, and only 1 goal against Norway, the group leader. The problem: that single goal came in a crushing 1-4 defeat at home, a match that marked Norway's dominance and Italy's helplessness, pushing them into the risky playoff round. Meaning, in the most crucial match, Italy's forward line lacked the strength to secure a victory.

The goal-scoring obsession for Italy is immense. They missed the 2018 World Cup because they "failed to fire" in both playoff matches against Sweden, and were absent from the 2022 World Cup also due to failing to break through North Macedonia's defense in the playoff. And now, once again in the playoffs, Italy faces a challenge against Northern Ireland. This is an opponent Italy does not want to face at all. It was Northern Ireland, with a 0-0 draw in the most recent encounter in November 2021, that pushed Italy into the 2022 World Cup playoff, where they lost 0-1 to North Macedonia and officially missed their second consecutive World Cup.

Northern Ireland knows exactly what they must do at the New Balance stadium on the night of March 26th. It will certainly be a "concrete" defensive style of play that Italians greatly fear, while they will also look to exploit Italy's defensive vulnerabilities. They will copy the formula that helped North Macedonia defeat Italy 1-0 four years ago in Palermo.

Who will score?

This challenging question is causing coach Gattuso immense headaches, especially after he could not have Federico Chiesa, the player expected to make crucial contributions, who withdrew due to insufficient fitness. In the 29-player squad list, Gattuso has up to seven players considered forwards, but none provide assurance.

First are the regular starting duo: Matteo Retegui and Moise Kean, who contributed nearly half of the team's goals under Gattuso (9 goals, with Retegui scoring 5 and Kean 4). Retegui is performing fairly well at Al Qadsiah with 18 goals in 28 matches, but remember he is playing in Saudi Arabia, a league much lower in level compared to Europe. Kean, disappointingly, is currently the worst shooter in Serie A. This 25-year-old forward has taken 97 shots, ranking second in the league (only behind Nico Paz with 103) but scored only 8 goals, including 2 from penalties. Excluding penalties, Kean needs 16 shots to score one goal. His unimaginable bluntness is one reason Fiorentina is struggling to stay in the league this season.

Next are Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca, who both wear the Atalanta jersey. Raspadori moved to Atalanta two months ago after failing to integrate at Atletico Madrid and just returned to play a few days ago after a month-long thigh muscle injury. Scamacca is currently injured, and his chances of participating in the Northern Ireland match are quite fragile. There is a real possibility he will be last-minute excluded if he cannot recover.

Then there are Matteo Politano and Nicolo Cambiaghi, who cannot truly be considered forwards as they perform well only in wing roles. Politano has experience and technique, but fitness is a difficult issue as he appears overloaded from playing too many matches for Napoli this season, while Cambiaghi is merely a makeshift solution after Chiesa's absence. Expectations for them are genuinely not high.

The most reliable player for Italy at this moment is Pio Esposito, the 20-year-old talent from Inter Milan, who scored against Norway in the most recent match and also scored in Serie A last weekend. Youth, hunger, and the impressive coolness of Pio are what Gattuso desperately needs for this match, but there are still concerns. Seeing this player completely overwhelmed in the Milan derby three weeks ago suggests he might still be too inexperienced for a crucial, high-pressure match like a World Cup playoff.