Italy beat Northern Ireland to reach World Cup play-off final

Four-time champions Italy will face Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 in their qualifying play-off semi-final on Thursday.

Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean scored second-half goals in Bergamo to keep the Azzurri on track to end a 12-year absence from the World Cup.

Sweden were among the other teams to secure a spot in next week's European play-off finals as a Viktor Gyokeres hat-trick helped secure a 3-1 victory over Ukraine.

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