At 3:45 a.m. on November 16th, Beijing time, the final round of Group C of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers in the European Zone ushered in a focus match. The Italian team played against the Northern Ireland team in an away game. The game was dull, with neither team getting a good chance, and it ended in a 0-0 draw. In another match in the same group, the Swiss team defeated Bulgaria 4-0 at home, surpassing the Italian team in points and rising to the top of the group, directly qualifying for the World Cup. The European champion Italy team, which fell to second place in the group, can only participate in the cruel play-offs.
Before this round, the Italian team and the Swiss team had 15 points, and the Italian team ranked first in the group with a goal difference of 2. The situation in the final round is very clear. If the Italian team wants to directly advance to the World Cup, it must defeat Northern Ireland away from home and needs to score more goals. The two teams have met 12 times in history, with Italy recording 8 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. The only losing record was in 1958.
In the 8th minute, Di Lorenzo moved forward to the right side of the penalty area, received a pass from his teammate and hit the goal directly. Northern Ireland goalkeeper Farrell flew to block the ball from the baseline. In the 18th minute, Varela cut in from outside the penalty area and then hit a long shot. The shot was too straight and the Northern Ireland goalkeeper easily got the ball.
In the 22nd minute, Insigne stopped the ball in the penalty area and turned around to shoot and his shot was blocked. Then Barrera followed up and missed the shot, but Insigne was offside first. In the 32nd minute, Chiesa dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the left, passed the defender and hit the goal with his left foot from a small angle. Northern Ireland goalkeeper Farrell saved the ball.
In the 37th minute, the Italian team counterattacked. Berardi passed the ball in front of the penalty area. Insigne took the ball into the penalty area, dunked the defender and then stabbed with his right foot. The ball was too light and Farrell got it easily.
In the 38th minute, Chiesa got another chance on the left side of the penalty area. After receiving a pass from his teammate, he cut in laterally, and then his right-footed shot was blocked by Farrell. At the end of the first half, the two teams were temporarily tied at 0-0.
In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again. Insigne dribbled the ball from the frontcourt into the penalty area and missed the far corner with his right foot. In the 50th minute, Northern Ireland got a chance. An inverted triangle was passed back in front of the left baseline. Mogenis' push in the middle was blocked by Donnarumma with one palm.
In the 63rd minute, Berardi controlled the ball at the top of the arc and then passed a short pass to Chiesa. The latter shot the far corner with his left foot in the penalty area, but the ball missed. The Italian team was a little anxious and began to replace offensive players. Belotti came on to replace Varela, Bernardeschi came on to replace Insigne, Jorginho was also replaced by Locatelli Replace.
In the 73rd minute, Belotti's header missed the goal, and then Emerson's low shot also missed the post. In the 80th minute, Mancini replaced Emerson with Scamacca. In the 90th minute, the Italian team almost suffered a victory. The Northern Ireland team made a quick counterattack. Donnarumma made a mistake and missed the ball. Washington's push shot against the empty goal was cleared by Bonucci on the goal line.
After 3 minutes of injury time, the game ended. The Italian team drew 0-0 with the Northern Ireland team in the away game. In another match in the same group, the Swiss team defeated the Bulgarian team 4-0. In the final standings of Group C, the Swiss team surpassed the Italian team to top the group with 18 points and directly qualified for the World Cup; the Italian team finished second in the group with 16 points. As the European champions, they will have to participate in the play-offs.
