How to watch Italy vs Northern Ireland in UK and USA — TV channel, live stream, team news

Italy and Northern Ireland go head-to-head in a FIFA World Cup qualification playoff on Thursday, with the winner moving one step closer to securing a spot at this summer's tournament

Italy is aiming to make it to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2014(Image: Getty Images)

Italy hosts Northern Ireland in one of eight European playoff semifinals taking place on Thursday, as both sides aim to avoid missing out on yet another FIFA World Cup.

Italy may have won the delayed European Championships in 2021, but the Azzurri haven't competed on the world stage since 2014, having shockingly failed to qualify for the last two tournaments in Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022).

Liverpool currently has 13 players who have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while the same number are competing with their countries this month. As for Northern Ireland, it will certainly be looking to capitalise on Italy's recent World Cup woes, as the Green and White Army chase just their fourth-ever World Cup appearance — and first since 1986.

The winner of this game will advance to the playoff final, where it will visit either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday, March 31, with a place at this summer's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada up for grabs.

Here, Liverpool.com tells you everything you need to know about Italy vs. Northern Ireland, including how you can tune into all the action.

When is Italy vs Northern Ireland?

Italy vs Northern Ireland will kick off at 7:45pm GMT (3:45pm ET / 12:45pm PT) on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at Stadio di Bergamo in Bergamo, Italy — the home of Serie A club Atalanta.

Atalanta's Stadio di Bergamo will host Thursday's FIFA World Cup playoff between Italy and Northern Ireland(Image: Getty Images)

The last meeting between the two sides took place in November 2021, when they played out a 0-0 draw at Windsor Park in Belfast during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, having been drawn in the same qualifying group.

How to watch

In the U.K., the match will be shown live on BBC Three, with coverage getting underway at 7:05pm. The game can also be streamed via the BBC iPlayer and BBC iPlayer app.

In the U.S., viewers can catch all the action on Paramount.

Team news

Italy heads into the game with several injury concerns to contend with, although it has been boosted by the news that Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori has been cleared to play after suffering a minor problem in Sunday's EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

Nonetheless, the 2006 World Cup winners are set to be without the defensive trio of Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni (knock) and Roma's Gianluca Mancini (knock), along with Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca (adductor) and Liverpool's Federico Chiesa.

Northern Ireland will also be without a Liverpool star in the form of Conor Bradley, who continues to recover from a season-ending injury sustained in January, along with fellow full-back Jamal Lewis (ankle) of Preston.

Another major blow has come in the form of Sunderland's Dan Ballard, who must sit out this crucial clash with a hamstring injury, but Luton's George Saville (suspension) and fit-again pair Shea Charles and Ali McCann are back amongst the squad.