Italy vs Northern Ireland: Michael O'Neill dealt late injury blow for World Cup playoff – LIVE updates

The tests don't come much tougher for Michael O'Neill as he looks to steer Northern Ireland to the World Cup.

Four-time world champions Italy must be cleared to achieve something special and book a ticket to North America.

O'Neill has an opportunity to lead the nation to a first World Cup in 40 years - but Rino Gattuso is looking to carve out his own piece of history.

The Azzurri are under pressure to avoid failing to qualify for soccer’s biggest event for a third consecutive time after being eliminated by Sweden in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2022.

And with 16 teams scrambling for just four spots at the tournament, there can be no more stumbles by the giants of European football.

It's a one-off game for Northern Ireland as they look to progress to one of four finals next week - and take a step towards the to big stage to join Scotland.

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One-time Rangers midfielder Rino Gattuso isn't one to shirk responsibility.

And the defiant Italy boss is confident he can handle the weight of expecation riding on tonight's game and claim victory to move the four-time champions one step closer to their first World Cup appearance in 12 years.

Speaking ahead of the clash, he said:

For the past seven months, I've been hearing the same thing: take us to the World Cup. I hear it in the morning, I hear it at night. I carry an entire country on my shoulders.

This is the most important match of my career. Maybe even of my life.

Missing the World Cup twice in a row was a shock. We can't go through that again.

This time, there are no more excuses. It's up to us to get the job done.

The sides last faced off at Windsor Park in November during the qualification phase