Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali scored the opener in Italy's 2-0 win over Northern Ireland

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali scored the opener in Italy's 2-0 win over Northern Ireland

Italy will face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday, as Wales and the Republic of Ireland suffered agonising penalty shootout defeats in their qualifying play-off semi-finals.

Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean struck second-half goals in Bergamo to keep four-time World Cup winners Italy on track to end a 12-year absence from the tournament.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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