Northern Ireland face Italy in the World Cup 2026 qualifying play-off semi-finals at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo on Thursday evening, with a place at the tournament in North America at stake. Michael O'Neill's side are two wins away from reaching a first World Cup in 40 years.
The visitors will look to replicate the form that saw them beat Germany and narrowly miss out on automatic qualification behind Slovakia in Group A. Italy, meanwhile, are under pressure to avoid missing a third successive World Cup, having lost twice to Norway in qualifying.
The match kicks off at a time to be confirmed on Thursday 26 March 2026. It will be broadcast free-to-air on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Three, with live streaming available via BBC iPlayer. All of Northern Ireland and Wales's play-offs are live on the BBC, while other UEFA qualifiers are on Amazon Prime PPV.
No national radio coverage is scheduled for this match; listeners should check local BBC radio stations for updates. The winner will face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final on Tuesday 31 March.
