bergamo: Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champions need to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.
The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.
“After taking the lead, we cleared our minds,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “We put in a good performance. This should be a confidence boost for Tuesday. … We have to win. We have no other choice.”
Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Poland, Turkey, Kosovo, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
France beat Brazil
Foxborough (USA): The traffic on the way to France’s World Cup tune-up against Brazil was a problem. Kylian Mbappé’s knee was not.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and current Real Madrid star showed no ill effects from his knee injury on Thursday when he broke free for a goal to give France an early lead on its way to a 2-1 victory in a friendly between two of the world’s top teams. agencies