Gianluigi Donnarumma singled out for praise by Gennaro Gattuso after Israel win as Italy coach hopes for 'God's blessing' in pursuit of World Cup spot

Israel gave Italy a run for their money in last month's qualifiers, which dramatically ended 5-4 in the latter's favour. On Tuesday, though, the result was rather straightforward. Gattuso's troops registered a comfortable 3-0 victory, thanks to a brace from Mateo Retegui and a stoppage time goal from Gianluca Mancini. The result mathematically secured Italy's spot in the World Cup play-offs and extended their winning streak to five games. 

Speaking to Rai after the game, Gattuso said: "We played well. We all remember the match a month ago. They had us dancing, taking us for a walk. Congratulations to the lads, especially Gigio [Donnarumma], who made some good saves. Personally, I'm satisfied. I saw great spirit and I'm happy not to have conceded a goal. We played the game we needed to play, even though we had everything to lose today... Very, very good."

Italy are at risk of missing out on a direct spot at next year's World Cup, which means they might have to settle for a play-off spot. However, the former AC Milan head coach continues to show belief in his squad. 

"But we have to know how to suffer; few teams in the world can handle it," he added. "And when we have the ball, the quality is there, but we need to regain consistency and work on every inch. Playoffs? We won't rest, let's hope for God's blessings and that we don't lose any players. We'll play two solid matches and try to form a compact core that can perform well on and off the pitch."

Italy's last appearance in World Cup finals was in the 2014 edition. Since then, they have suffered the humiliation of failing to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. The latter failure was especially stunning, coming just over a year after they had been crowned European champions. 

As many as 48 teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, out of which 16 slots have been assigned to teams that fall under UEFA's governance. There are currently 12 groups in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Winners of these 12 groups will automatically qualify for next year's showpiece event, while the 12 runners-up will be joined by four best-ranked Nations League section winners. These 16 teams will vie for the remaining four UEFA slots at the World Cup.

Italy have racked up 15 points from six games, three less than Norway, who have won all six games so far. In order to attain a play-off spot, they need to ensure they collect at least one point from their remaining two games. If they want to win the group, they will have to win the remaining two games against Norway and Moldova, while hoping that the Scandinavians drop points against Estonia.