Italy vs Northern Ireland Preview

Italy host Northern Ireland at the New Balance Arena on Thursday evening in a World Cup qualifying fixture that represents a pivotal night for both sides’ ambitions. Kick-off is 19:45 GMT.

Italy head into this one having suffered a significant setback in their most recent outing — a 4-1 home defeat to Norway on November 16, 2025. Prior to that, they won 2-0 away at Moldova in qualifying on November 13. Earlier in this run, a 3-0 home win over Israel, a 3-1 win away at Estonia, and a 5-4 win away at Israel complete a sequence of four wins in qualifying before that damaging Norway result. Italy have scored 21 qualifying goals with a goal difference of +9 and 12 conceded — a side capable of producing high-scoring results but one that was exposed defensively by Norway. The pressure is on to bounce back with a home win tonight.

Northern Ireland travel to Italy having won their most recent qualifying fixture — a 1-0 home win over Luxembourg on November 17, 2025. Prior to that, they lost 1-0 away at Slovakia on November 14 and lost 1-0 at home to Germany on October 13. Earlier in this run, a 2-0 home win over Slovakia and a 3-1 defeat away at Germany complete a picture of a side that is capable of wins at home against comparable opposition but has struggled against the group’s stronger nations. With just 7 qualifying goals scored, a goal difference of +1 and 6 conceded, Northern Ireland’s attacking output has been limited — but a compact defensive approach means they are rarely beaten heavily.

The head-to-head record strongly favours Italy, who have won three of the last five meetings with two draws and no Northern Ireland victories. Most recently, Italy won 2-0 at home in World Cup qualifying in March 2021, while the sides drew 0-0 when Northern Ireland hosted Italy in November 2021. Italy also won 3-0 at home in European Championship qualifying in October 2011.

Italian supporters can watch on RAI 1 and RaiPlay from 19:45 GMT on Thursday. UK and Northern Irish fans can watch on BBC3, BBC Sport Web and BBC iPlayer, with BBC Northern Ireland providing dedicated coverage. German viewers can watch on DAZN Germany, while Norwegian supporters can tune in via Viaplay Norway and TV 2 Play.

Italy Form — Last 5 Games

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
L	Italy	1-4	Norway	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 16, 2025
W	Moldova	0-2	Italy	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 13, 2025
W	Italy	3-0	Israel	World Cup Qualifying	Oct 14, 2025
W	Estonia	1-3	Italy	World Cup Qualifying	Oct 11, 2025
W	Israel	4-5	Italy	World Cup Qualifying	Sep 8, 2025

Northern Ireland Form — Last 5 Games

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
W	Northern Ireland	1-0	Luxembourg	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 17, 2025
L	Slovakia	1-0	Northern Ireland	World Cup Qualifying	Nov 14, 2025
L	Northern Ireland	0-1	Germany	World Cup Qualifying	Oct 13, 2025
W	Northern Ireland	2-0	Slovakia	World Cup Qualifying	Oct 10, 2025
L	Germany	3-1	Northern Ireland	World Cup Qualifying	Sep 7, 2025

Head To Head — Last 5 Games

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Date	Competition
Northern Ireland	0-0	Italy	Nov 15, 2021	World Cup Qualifying
Italy	2-0	Northern Ireland	Mar 25, 2021	World Cup Qualifying
Italy	3-0	Northern Ireland	Oct 11, 2011	European Championship Qualifying
Northern Ireland	0-0	Italy	Oct 8, 2010	European Championship Qualifying
Italy	3-0	Northern Ireland	Jun 6, 2009	International Friendly

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel(s)
Italy	RAI 1, RaiPlay
United Kingdom	BBC3, BBC Sport Web, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC iPlayer
Ireland	BBC3, BBC Sport Web, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC iPlayer
Germany	DAZN Germany
Norway	Viaplay Norway, TV 2 Play
Sweden	Viaplay Sweden
Austria	DAZN Austria
Switzerland	DAZN Switzerland, RAI 1, RSI La 2
Portugal	Sport TV2, Sport TV Multiscreen
United States	Peacock, ViX