The Azzurri keep World Cup hopes alive against Estonia ahead of hotly contested match against Israel

  ROME -- Italy’s men’s football team beat Estonia 1-3 on Saturday in a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. This victory ensured Italy gained a crucial three points to ensure their dreams of qualifying for the World Cup stay alive.

  Italy have won the World Cup four times, the last time being in 2006, however for the last two consecutive tournament the Azzurri have failed to qualify. Before 2018, the last time Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup was in 1958. Manager Gennaro Gattuso took over halfway through this campaign following the firing of Luciano Spalletti after Italy’s 3-0 loss to Norway in June. Gattuso has won three matches from three, with the Azzurri scoring 13 goals in this period, a record-breaking start to his Italian national team career.

  Saturday’s match saw a convincing performance from Gattuso’s side. The scoring opened in the fourth minute thanks to a goal from Moise Kean, his fourth goal in three matches, however the striker was forced off shortly after due to an ankle sprain. Following a foul, the Azzurri were awarded a penalty in the 30^th minute, but Mateo Retegui saw his effort saved by Estonian goalkeeper Karl Hein. Not letting his missed penalty faze him, Retegui scored Italy’s second goal eight minutes later, scoring from just outside the six-yard box.

  Following a strong first half performance from the Azzurri, the second half was tamer until Francesco Pio Esposito, who replaced Kean, scored his first international goal in the 74^th minute, putting Italy 0-3 up. However, the Italians conceded two minutes later, marking another late goal by the opposing team, a habit of which Gattuso’s team having seemingly grown fond. The match finished 1-3, with Italy securing three more crucial points on the road to World Cup qualification.

  Also on Saturday, Norway beat Israel 5-0 and look set to qualify as top of the group, having won all their matches, sitting comfortably on 18 points with a goal difference of 26. Although Italy sits in second place, they trail behind with 12 points and a goal difference of seven. The winners of each group automatically qualify for the World Cup, and the runners up enter the playoffs. This means that unless Norway lose their next three matches and Italy win all three and rapidly improve their goal difference, Italy’s dreams can only realistically be maintained through the playoff route.

  Italy’s next challenge is a rematch against Israel on Tuesday 14^th, who currently sit in third place on nine points. An Israeli win on Tuesday would see the team move to level points with Italy, threatening Italy’s chance at qualifying for the playoffs.

  The Azzurri already beat Israel 4-5 in an intense match on Sept. 8 which saw Gattuso’s side concede two goals in as many minutes taking them from 2-4 to 4-4 in the dying minutes of the game. Out of Israel’s four goals, two of them were own goals. Italy only managed to scrape a win due to Tonali finding the redeeming goal in the 91^st minute.

  Speaking to Israeli channel Sport5 after the game, the Israeli captain, Elazar “Eli” Dasa, criticised the Italian players for trying to “provoke” the Israeli team. Several arguments broke out on the pitch, involving Italian captain Gianluigi Donnarumma and Israeli players Tai Baribo and Sagiv Yehezkel, as well as a heated clash between Italian manager Gattuso and Israeli players. Several Israeli players also spoke to Sport5, saying that the Azzurri “cursed at us the whole game.”

  Tensions surrounding the game were not only due to the tight qualifying … but also, regarding the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Italian fans sported banners reading “Stop” and over 100 Italian fans turned their back to the pitch during the Israeli national anthem in protest.

  The Italian authorities announced there would be heightened security in Udine ahead of Tuesday’s match. A protest of over 10,000 people is expected just hours before kick-off, criticising international reaction to the Israeli interception of the “freedom flotilla” carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, as well as more broadly protesting the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the hopes that Italy will join the likes of the U.K. and France in recognising Palestine as a state. In an interview with LaPresse, the mayor of Udine, Alberto Felice de Toni, revealed had asked for the match to be postponed due to political tension, however his request was denied by authorities.

  Gattuso reacted to the news of the protest saying, “the atmosphere is certainly not great”, as the heightened security has led to a reduced crowd, meaning only around 5,000 fans will be allowed into the stadium, half the amount of people expected to be protesting outside.

  The Italian manager previously labelled himself a “man of peace” before the last Israeli-Italian clash, saying that “it makes [his] heart hurt” seeing the violence and fighting in the Middle East over the last two years.  

  Italy needs to beat Israel to ensure they remain second, as an Israeli win would see the team become equal on points with the Azzurri. Tensions, both political and sporting, will remain high as Italy continue to hope they will finally qualify for the World Cup after eight long years.