Italy manager Gattuso claims World Cup play-off is 'biggest match' of his career

[p]The Azzurri host the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/northern-ireland/lQADNSWu/"]Northern Irish[/a] in Bergamo [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/italy-hlKvieGH/northern-ireland-lQADNSWu/?mid=v7ssLzeU"]on Thursday[/a] trying to end a 12-year absence from the World Cup finals after failing to qualify for the last two editions in Russia and Qatar.[/p][p][b]"Tomorrow is definitely the most important match of my career,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gattuso-gennaro/4KygbMf9/"]Gattuso[/a] told reporters.[/p][p]"But I'm prepared... I'm not thinking about if things go badly, I want to think positively, think big, and tomorrow we'll give it our best."[/p][embed guid="db832cc1-2744-42e5-a072-05a7a0721380" url="https://x.com/TouchlineX/status/2036202962972705235" social-type="twitter" /][p]Gattuso admitted that for him Thursday's match is in a way even bigger than the 2006 World Cup final, which he won as a player for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a] following a penalty shoot-out against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a].[/p][p]Italy haven't even played a knockout match at a World Cup since then, and eliminations in the qualifying play-offs in 2018 and 2022 have given Thursday's match huge significance.[/p][p]Gattuso joked that he needed pills to help him sleep, otherwise he stays up through the night "like a bat" due to the pressure.[/p][p][b]"That's another world, I stopped playing years ago and I can't even remember the matches I played,"[/b] said Gattuso.[/p][p]"There's no comparison really, not so much for the tension but for the responsibility that I've put on myself."[/p][p]Gattuso added that most of his players were fit, and that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter Milan[/a] defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bastoni-alessandro/On4TkPTN/"]Alessandro Bastoni[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atalanta/8C9JjMXu/"]Atalanta[/a] striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scamacca-gianluca/vDgQxOYl/"]Gianluca Scamacca[/a] were the only doubts for the semi-final.[/p][h2]Pressure[/h2][p]Striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/retegui-mateo/Grhjz8pS/"]Mateo Retegui[/a] has come back to Bergamo where he became Serie A top scorer with Atalanta in the 2024/25 season, and where he netted twice in a 5-0 thumping of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/estonia/YJwM4R15/"]Estonia[/a] in September last year.[/p][p][b]"We've spoken a lot about keeping calm, keeping things light and not thinking about it too much,"[/b] said Retegui, who now plays for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/al-qadsiah/tvQZtrTd/"]Al-Qadsiah[/a] in Saudi Arabia.[/p][p]"We know that there's only one result for us, and that's to win."[/p][p]If Italy get past Northern Ireland, who haven't been at a World Cup since being knocked out at the group stage 40 years ago, they will face one of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wales/YcUP0Nqp/"]Wales[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/a] away from home on Tuesday.[/p][p]Northern Ireland held Italy to a goalless draw at Windsor Park in 2021, a result which stopped the reigning European champions from topping their qualifying group and led to their play-off defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/north-macedonia/GrTQ3oHB/"]North Macedonia[/a].[/p][p][b]"The important thing for us is to play the game and not think about what's at stake. The expectation clearly lies... with the big nation, that's Italy,"[/b] said Northern Ireland coach Michael [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/o-neill-martin/82l54I96/"]O'Neill[/a].[/p][p]"I think we have to not be intimidated by the reputation of the players that they have."[/p][p]O'Neill, who took Northern Ireland to their first ever European Championship in 2016, is aware of the pressure on Italy and said he wanted a "tight" match.[/p][p][b]"Italy have their own situation to deal with which is their own history. They only have that history because they're a top football nation. We fully respect that,"[/b] added O'Neill.[/p][p]"It's not something that we can use to our advantage, it's something that they have to deal with, and we have to make the game difficult."[/p]