Tonali "Lifts" Italy, Three Top Strikers Help Their Teams Secure Half a Ticket to the World Cup

Written by Han Bing In the early morning of March 27 Beijing time, the semifinals of the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs concluded. Under immense pressure, Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2-0, now standing just one step away from returning to the World Cup after 12 years, with Bosnia as the final hurdle.

This was truly a night for stars: Italy advanced thanks to a goal and assist from their top player Tonali; Poland and Bosnia respectively relied on goals from 37-year-old Lewandowski and 40-year-old Džeko to eliminate Albania and Wales; Sweden's second-most valuable player Gyökeres scored a hat-trick, helping the bottom-placed Sweden team from the group stage overcome Ukraine to reach the playoff final; Kosovo's away comeback against Slovakia was a minor upset, with Kosovo's highest-valued player Asllani scoring the crucial equalizer.

The final four playoff matchups are: Bosnia vs Italy, Sweden vs Poland, Kosovo vs Turkey, Czech Republic vs Denmark—eight teams will compete for the last four UEFA tickets.

Italy's world ranking (13th) is 56 places higher than Northern Ireland (69th), with a historical record of 7 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss in 11 matches giving them a clear advantage. However, this was a must-win game for the Azzurri, who had missed two consecutive World Cups. Their only previous loss was a 2-1 away defeat to Northern Ireland in January 1958, which cost them a spot in the 1958 World Cup. Before the match, Northern Ireland manager O'Neill confidently claimed Italy no longer had Totti or Del Piero: "We fear nothing, Italy has nothing." Ironically, Del Piero himself spoke about the match, expressing confidence in Italy's success.

Northern Ireland excels in defense, prompting Italy to practice penalties. Yet, without Totti or Del Piero, Italy had Tonali—whom O'Neill considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Gattuso's Italy is an unconventional attacking team, having scored 19 goals in their previous six matches. This home game against Northern Ireland saw Italy dominate in shots (19-8), shots on target (8-1), corners (12-3), and possession (63%). Northern Ireland's defense held for 56 minutes before Tonali broke it with a stunning volley from the edge of the box. In the 80th minute, Tonali delivered a brilliant pass, and Kean secured the victory.

Kean has scored 12 goals in 12 starts for Italy, netting in five consecutive national team matches—the first Italian to do so since Schillaci in 1990. After the match, Tonali called this his career's most important goal. Next Tuesday away to Zenica, to avoid the "disaster" of missing three consecutive World Cups, Italy will likely rely again on Tonali and Kean. Kean was equally emotional: "After the 2-0, I felt the entire country on my shoulders. It's a great feeling, and I hope to continue contributing to Italy." The most crucial gain from this win was restoring Italy's confidence.

Next Tuesday's away match against Bosnia is the true decisive battle for Italy. Their last encounter was a 2024 friendly where Italy won 1-0 at home. In the 2020 UEFA Nations League group stage, Italy won 2-0 away. Besides the psychological advantage of consecutive wins, Bosnia's narrow penalty shootout victory away has left them physically disadvantaged. Yet Gattuso remains cautious, with the painful lesson from four years ago against North Macedonia serving as a stark reminder.

Italy's highest-valued player Tonali saved the Azzurri, while Lewandowski, Džeko, and Gyökeres were also saviors for their respective teams.

Poland trailed Albania 1-0 at home in the first half. Early in the second half, 37-year-old Lewandowski equalized with a header, and Zielinski secured the win ten minutes later. This was Lewandowski's 35th World Cup qualifying goal, tying him with Iran's Ali Daei for fourth place, behind only Messi (36 goals), Ruiz (39 goals, Guatemala), and Ronaldo (41 goals).

Away against Wales, whose world ranking is 36 places higher than Bosnia, 40-year-old Džeko headed in a last-gasp equalizer in the 86th minute, dragging the match into extra time. Džeko achieved the historic feat of scoring for Bosnia for 20 consecutive years. As Bosnia's all-time appearance and scoring leader, he has the chance to lead Bosnia to the World Cup for the second time since 2014.

With Isak absent, Sweden's second-most valuable player Gyökeres scored a hat-trick, helping the bottom-placed Sweden team from the group stage defeat powerhouse Ukraine 3-1 away. Gyökeres converted all three shots on target with astonishing efficiency. This was his second hat-trick for Sweden, ending a four-match scoring drought for the national team. Next Tuesday's playoff final, Sweden vs Poland at home, will be a direct showdown between the super strikers Gyökeres and Lewandowski.

The only upset in the UEFA playoff semifinals was Kosovo, ranked 35 places lower, reversing Slovakia away. Kosovo, trailing twice in unfavorable circumstances, scored three consecutive goals in the second half to complete the comeback. Their highest-valued player Asllani, from Bundesliga Hoffenheim, scored the crucial second equalizer just two minutes into the second half, laying the foundation for the comeback.

Additionally, in the two semifinal penalty shootouts, four goalkeepers saved penalties: Wales' Dahl saved first, but his teammate Johnson missed; Williams' penalty was saved by Vasili. Czech goalkeeper Koval conceded an own goal from a ball that hit the post in the first half but redeemed himself in the shootout. After Ireland's keeper Kelleher saved first, Koval successively saved Azaz and Brown's penalties, becoming the hero of Czech Republic's comeback night.

Furthermore, Denmark easily defeated North Macedonia 4-0, and Turkey narrowly beat Romania 1-0, with Romania having missed seven consecutive World Cups since 1998. On March 31, the UEFA playoff finals will see Bosnia host Italy, Sweden host Poland, Kosovo host Turkey, and Czech Republic host Denmark. Whether Italy can end their World Cup absence nightmare and whether Kosovo can create another miracle to become a World Cup newcomer will be the most watched highlights.