Great Italian No. 8! Tonali scores and assists, Keane nets, Italy beats Northern Ireland 2-0 to reach final

At 03:45 Beijing time on March 27, in the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal, Italy hosted Northern Ireland.

In the first half, Dimarco and Tonali created chances, but the half ended 0-0; in the second half, Italy's naturalized forward Retegui missed a good opportunity, Tonali broke the deadlock with a world-class strike, and then assisted Keane to score, completing a goal and an assist.

Ultimately, Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2-0, advancing to the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff final, where they will face the winner of Wales vs Bosnia.

Italy vs Northern Ireland,Gattuso deployed a 3-5-2 formation, with Keane and Retegui partnering as the two forwards. Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, and Dimarco formed the five midfielders, while Mancini, Bastoni, and Calafiori comprised the three defenders, with Donnarumma as goalkeeper. The starting lineup's total value was 473 million euros.Northern Ireland employed a 5-4-1 defensive formation, with a starting lineup value of 37.9 million euros.

Italy's manager is the former Italian "hardman" Gattuso, and in this match Tonali was the great Italian No. 8. He was not fighting alone; he embodied both Gattuso and Pirlo, being the strongest player in this Italian team. Italy has missed two consecutive World Cups, and this time they are determined to succeed. After a grinding first half against Northern Ireland, Tonali, the Newcastle midfield core, stepped up in the second half, contributing with a goal and an assist. First, he broke the deadlock with a stunning long-range strike, then assisted Keane to score and secure the win. He helped Italy defeat Northern Ireland 2-0 at home and advance to the final. Italy is now just one match away from the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup. Whether against Wales or Bosnia, Italy is determined to prevail.

After the match, Tonali received a rating of 8.4, the only player from either side to achieve a rating above 8.

Throughout the entire match,Italy had 63% possession, with 19 total shots, 8 of which were on target; Northern Ireland had 8 total shots, with only 1 on target.Italy's forward line still lacks sharpness; Retegui is a naturalized Argentine striker who won an Serie A Golden Boot once before moving to the Saudi league for money. Italy's current football goal is simply to participate in the World Cup.