Italy vs Northern Ireland: Gattuso’s Road to the World Cup

Little to lose and a lot to gain. Northern Ireland faces Italy in the playoff with the best possible conditions, and manager Michael O’Neill can try to lead his team back to a World Cup they haven’t reached in 40 years. However, they will be without Connor Bradley, their best player and the only one playing for a major club like Liverpool, and also Daniel Ballard, a Sunderland central defender, leaving a gap in an already shaky defense. The squad largely consists of players from England’s third tier, bringing a direct style of play and relentless grit.

At Al-Qadsiah, Retegui has also found Brendan Rodgers, a coach who comes from Northern Ireland, “but he didn’t tell me anything about the match against Italy,” the Italian-Argentine striker joked, having scored 18 goals in three games for his club. He arrived at Coverciano in good form and a few days early: “I experience great,” he assured. “Ever since the match against Norway, I wanted to return to Italy, and this is the most important week of the year for all of us. It seemed logical and right to be close to the team and train at Coverciano. I want to play and I’m looking forward to the match.”

Mateo Retegui is the focal point of the national team’s attack as they seek to continue their path to the World Cup tonight in Bergamo, “and we know there’s only one result, but I’m very calm and the whole team is calm.” “Returning to Bergamo is always nice, this city is special, I had great moments here last year and also in the match with Estonia played in this stadium, which gives me a lot,” Retegui said on the eve of the match, having scored 25 goals in 35 appearances before moving to Saudi Arabia.

ITALIA (3-5-2): Donnarumma, Mancini, Bastoni, Calafiori, Politano, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Dimarco, Kean, Retegui. Substitutes: Carnesecchi, Meret, Buongiorno, Cambiaso, Gatti, Palestra, Scalvini, Spinazzola, Cristante, Frattesi, Pisilli, Cambiaghi, Esposito, Raspadori.

NORTHERN IRELAND (3-4-2-1): Peacock-Farrell, Hume, McNair, McConville, Devlin, McCann, S.Charles, Devenny, Galbraith, Price, Reid. Substitutes: Hazard, P. Charles, Clarke, Spencer, Brown, Atcheson, McDonnell, Donley, Saville, Lyons, Kelly, Morrison, Magennis, Marshall.

Italy faces an opponent that is technically easy to read, as Northern Ireland doesn’t hold possession and sends the ball into the opponent’s area whenever possible: “They play vertically,” said Gattuso. “They bring men into the area on corners and crosses and are dangerous because they have incredible grit.” “I tell them to go out and not underestimate the opponent,” the Azzurri coach warned. “There are two games, the one without the ball and the one with the ball, and we have to put in the effort when we don’t have the ball and then put our speed on display when we do, getting into their 20-25 meters with quality.”

Gattuso, as a coach, doesn’t want to praise his players by recounting the glories of his past, “I don’t like to tell my players what I’ve experienced, the players have to feel the emotions themselves,” he explains, knowing that everything depends on them: “It’s up to us, we go out on the field and give the sensation of being in control, of not being afraid, of being masters of the field. We can’t ask anything of anyone, we are the architects of our own destiny, we need great calm but awareness, we’re going to face players who have venom, it’s right to say we’re in crisis but we believe.”

“Why has Northern Ireland gotten this far? Because they have an important component, venom, every ball for them is the last of their lives, we must have the same motivation, be ready and match them blow for blow,” Gattuso explained in a pre-match press conference, emphasizing the “tingling sensation” every player should have before a match of this magnitude because “if a player arrives at a match like this without a tingling in their stomach, you can explain whatever you want… When I no longer felt it, I raised my hand and stopped playing.”