International break plot lines: Italy climbing Everest, Iraq's mission to Mexico, DR Congo's half-century wait for FIFA World Cup qualification
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/09/16/image-4414b260-c386-47c6-af98-0a2675a5a091-68-310-310.jpeg)
Published 30/03/2026 at 23:00 GMT+1
React to this story
History will be made in FIFA World Cup qualification as Italy, Kosovo, Jamaica, DR Congo and Iraq all battle to reach the festival of football this summer. The inter-confederation play-offs in Mexico have been a hard destination to reach, quite literally in the case of the Iraqi team. Gennaro Gattuso, meanwhile, is not underestimating the task that awaits The Azzurri in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
‘Total belief’ – Tuchel full of confidence in England squad
Video credit: SNTV
Italy must 'climb Everest' to end 12-year wait
Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso is under no illusions about the magnitude of his side's FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After 12 years without appearing on international football's biggest stage, Italy are one match away from sealing their spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico, having beaten Northern Ireland 2-0 in the play-off semi-finals.
It is also a dozen years since Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for their hitherto sole appearance at a World Cup, with both sides finishing third in their respective groups in Brazil.
The Azzurri will need to better the Bosnians, who sit 54 places below Gattuso's team in the FIFA world rankings, in their own backyard on Tuesday, a feat the visiting head coach likened to scaling the world's highest mountain.
”We’ve taken a small step,” Gattuso said in his post-match press conference. ”But now we have to climb Everest. Everyone felt it: the players, the staff, even Gigi Buffon. There were ghosts, yes, but now we have one last match to complete the job.
”The first thing I did was ask what the others [Wales and Bosnia] were doing. Because yes, we’re in the final, but now we have to prepare ourselves mentally for what our objective is.
”It will be another very difficult match. A team with experience, a tough environment. But every match is different, we have to arrive with the right mentality and prepare it in the best way.”
While Bosnia and Herzegovina needed penalties to scrape past Wales in Cardiff, it was a far more comfortable night for Italy, though Gattuso admitted his team were guilty of shying away from possession at times.
”Nobody wanted the ball at certain moments. You could feel it was heavy. But we didn’t collapse at the first difficulty like we used to. That’s the difference," said Gattuso.
”We have to smell danger. That’s something we’ve missed for a long time. Today we did it well. We stayed in the game, we didn’t lose our heads.”
Iraq's mission to Mexico
After 20 matches, three group stages and a private plane to Mexico, Iraq are on the brink of ending a four-decade wait for World Cup qualification.
The Lions of Mesopotamia, led by Australian manager Graham Arnold, have managed to set up a winner-takes-all inter-confederation play-off against Bolivia after navigating four rounds of AFC World Cup qualifying.
But with the war in the Middle East effectively shutting down Iraqi airspace, emergency intervention was needed to bring the World Cup hopefuls to their showdown in Monterrey.
Eventually, FIFA organised a private jet to fly most of the stranded squad across the Atlantic amid calls from Arnold and the Iraqi FA to postpone the play-off.
Arnold is well aware of the exceptional difficulty of his role, but granting Iraq their first World Cup participation for 40 years would be a fitting reward for their troubles.
"Before I took the job, I got told it was probably one of the toughest jobs in the world," said Arnold.
"Iraq hasn't qualified for a World Cup for 40 years, it's a big challenge with a lot of pressure and they are a nation of 46 million that are obsessed with football.
"I remember how great it was when we qualified in 2005 with The Socceroos [Australia], and the impact it can have on the country. In Iraq, they all bleed the one blood and they are so passionate for the game.
"Over the years that I've coached or played against Iraq, they've always been a bloody hard team and you're thinking, why haven't they qualified for 40 years?"
Kosovo on brink of history
Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao will make their maiden appearances at this summer's World Cup, and they could be joined by another debutant: Kosovo.
They are the last remaining nation in UEFA qualification who could play at their first global feast of football, having defeated Slovakia in a thrilling 4-3 triumph in Bratislava.
And The Dardanians will have home advantage in their play-off final against Turkey, who themselves are hoping to reach just their third World Cup and their first in 24 years.
It has been less than a decade since Kosovo were granted UEFA and FIFA membership, climbing to a best world ranking of 78 after their semi-final victory in March.
German head coach Franco Foda gave his team a 50% chance of overcoming Turkey in Pristina.
"The Turkish team is very strong also in terms of individual players like [Kenan] Yildiz, [Arda] Guler and [Hakan] Calhanoglu. They are of [good] quality, but we are also good. We are in the final with full merit. The chances are 50-50. We will give everything to win," said Foda.
"It is undoubtedly a very important event. We are playing for World Cup qualification. It is good to be motivated, but we must keep our heads in the sand."
DR Congo to battle Jamaica for glory
Together, DR Congo and Jamaica have a total of one win at World Cup tournaments.
Both nations have reached the World Cup just once, with The Reggae Boyz responsible for the only victory from the pair: a 2-1 triumph over Japan at France 1998.
But you have to go back 52 years for the last time DR Congo - then Zaire - competed at a World Cup, in West Germany in 1974, where The Leopards were beaten by Scotland, Brazil and Yugoslavia without scoring a goal. Their 9-0 reverse to the latter remains the joint-heaviest defeat in the history of the finals.
The two-time Africa Cup of Nations champions will have the chance to right the wrongs of that disappointing campaign, if they can get past a Jamaica side boasting the likes of Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey and Ethan Pinnock.
The Jamaicans will be without a permanent manager for their inter-confederation play-off in Guadalajara, after Steve McClaren resigned from his post in November.
Rudolph Speid, whose only previous managerial experience came at Jamaica Premier League outfit Cavalier, is the interim head coach and the 64-year-old oversaw a narrow 1-0 win over New Caledonia to set up the play-off final.
DR Congo, meanwhile, needed to defeat Cameroon and then Nigeria on penalties to earn their golden ticket, after finishing runners-up to Senegal in their initial CAF qualification group.
Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
Advertisement
Advertisement