Italy helped themselves by surviving a rollercoaster of a game against Israel, but the road toward the 2026 World Cup remains curvy. The Azzurri have gotten closer, but will have the work cut out for them.Gennaro Gattuso’s guys seized control of second place by beating Israel. The two teams are on par point-wise, but Italy have a game in hand. The rematch will take place in Udinese on October 14th after the tilt against Estonia.The Azzurri have to finish first to avoid the playoffs, which cost them the past two World Cup editions, as they fell against Sweden and North Macedonia. Norway are in the driver’s seat to win the group after dismantling their rivals three-nil in the opener, though.Erling Haaland’s outfit is also ahead in the goal difference, which is the top tie-breaker, +11 against +5, Corriere della Sera reports. The showdown between the two sides will take place on November 16th in San Siro. Italy will face Moldova away a few days prior.In order to overtake the foes, the Azzurri must win all their remaining matches and score as much as possible to close the gap and hope their rivals slip up in one of their other fixtures. The other tie-breakers are the total goals scored, the points collected in the head-to-head clashes, then the goal difference and the goals scored in those meetings.Our Take on ItalyThe problems still abound, and a four-man line might not fit the personnel, but at least the spirit was on point in the first matches under Gattuso. Surpassing Norway is a tall order, but the risk of finishing also behind Israel was looming before Monday’s win.
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