BERGAMO, Italy (March 26, 2026) (Interstat) — Italy began its World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland on Thursday at New Balance Arena. Midfielder Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the 56th minute, assisted by defender Alessandro Bastoni. Moise Kean doubled the lead in the 80th minute, again assisted by Bastoni, who later received a yellow card. Italy controlled the match, outperforming statistical projections that heavily favored the host nation. Both teams opened their tournament records with this result.