Having failed to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup finals, Italy will face Northern Ireland in the World Cup playoffs next March. Manager Gennaro Gattuso stated that Northern Ireland is a strong team, but encouraged his players to approach the challenge with confidence.

In the earlier World Cup qualifiers, Italy took the lead in the first half with a goal from Pio Esposito assisted by Dimarco, but conceded four goals in the second half, ultimately losing 1-4 to Norway. They finished second in their group and had to participate in the playoffs to compete for a place in the World Cup finals.

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said, "Northern Ireland is a physically strong and never-give-up team, and we have to face all of this. I've been saying this for three months: we know we have to get through the playoffs, we know we have to get better, and we have to look forward with confidence."

"The 12th round of Serie A is about to begin, and we will reconvene for the 30th round. From my perspective, I have to think about how to stay in touch with the players, look them in the eye and talk to them, not just about football, but also about other things, and hopefully we can do things well."

In addition, Gattuso stated, "The problem is not tactical; every system has its strengths and weaknesses. Now we must address our vulnerabilities because we have proven that we are competitive as long as we do things right."

“We can make mistakes, like what happened a few days ago. But we must improve, that’s my top priority. We still have time to think about our tactical system, and we will study Northern Ireland in the best possible way and hopefully minimize our losses.”