O’Neill: ‘Northern Ireland have everything to gain, pressure high on Italy’
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill warns they have ‘everything to gain’ in the World Cup play-off. ‘The longer it stays at 0-0, the more pressure’ is in Italy.
The semi-final kicks off in Bergamo on Thursday at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).
Whoever goes through will play either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final for a spot at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Northern Ireland got here thanks to two victories over Luxembourg and one against Slovakia, losing twice to Germany and once to Slovakia.
They also earned promotion to the Nations League B, which was decisive for setting up this play-off.
O’Neill has faith in Northern Ireland
“We have everything to gain in this match, there’s no doubt about that,” started O’Neill in his press conference.
“These players have already experienced important games and stadiums, away to Germany and Slovakia. Tomorrow will be a very important test for us, but we are ready.
“We’ve got to play the game and not think too much about what is at stake. There are such big expectations on Italy, being a great football nation, and we mustn’t be intimidated by that. We have many young players and this’ll be part of the growth process.”
There are also doubts over Preston midfielder Ali McCann, but O’Neill assured he trained and they are “optimistic” he’ll be able to start tomorrow.
Northern Ireland play in a 3-5-2 formation, which is also what Gennaro Gattuso is expected to use in this clash.
“Gattuso had six matches as Italy coach and we can learn from those games that we analysed. We know they have options in attack and in the three-man defence, there are certain players we expect to be there, but it all depends on our performance, how we deal with the dangers that present themselves.”
Gattuso said today that he has been losing sleep over the World Cup campaign and feels the weight of responsibility.
“Of course, being the Italy manager is very different to being the manager of Northern Ireland,” confessed O’Neill.
“I really admire him for accepting the job at that moment. In six games, he won five and only lost to Norway. That was their last game, so this might be a factor for them, but I have great respect for Gattuso.”
The Italy coach also noted that Northern Ireland are a ‘very vertical team’ who love to pump long balls into the box.
“I don’t think he’s underestimating us. Italy have long balls too, from the centre-back to the wingers. The most important thing is that we have a game plan and we want to put it into practice.
“We have to be realistic. We can’t come here and think we’re going to dominate the game, that would be naïve to suggest that. We have a game plan and it worked in the past too,” continued O’Neill.
“We did really well to get to this point. I’m very proud of the players, we had some difficulty in the group, but the players know what is at stake. It’s a one-off match, we are here. Young players tend to go into these situations without fear, and they’ll have many opportunities in future, but mustn’t waste this chance either.”
The pressure is undoubtedly all on Italy’s heads and that is something Northern Ireland fully intend to make the most of.
“We have great respect for Italy, we need to try to make life difficult for them, and the psychological aspect might become a factor,” continued O’Neill.
“We know the strength of their midfield, with Sandro Tonali, Manuel Locatelli and Nicolò Barella. Then there’s Pio Esposito.
“But this Italy doesn’t have an Alessandro Del Piero, a Francesco Totti, the strength of this Italy side is not in their individuals. Having said that, we respect them, they have high level players.”
When it comes to the pressure, it is bound to intensify the longer the game stays at 0-0.
“It is important for us to stay in the game, make sure it’s not too open. The longer it stays at 0-0, the more the pressure increases on the favourites. We know that we can be dangerous for them too, with planned attacks or maybe set plays,” concluded O’Neill.
“We’re not expecting to come here and see a game with lots of goals, we hope for a very tight match. We also got a few quotes from the Italian newspaper and showed them to the lads. How Italy deal with the pressure is going to be a decisive factor.”
There have been some injury problems, as Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard and Liverpool’s Conor Bradley were both forced to withdraw.
