Italy start their bid to dispel the phantoms of past failures on Thursday when they take on Northern Ireland in the World Cup playoff semifinal in Bergamo.
    The Azzurri, who are in the playoffs after finishing second to Erling Haaland's Norway in their qualification group, risk missing the World Cup for the third consecutive time.
    The four-time world champions also failed to qualify directly for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 and were then ejected in the subsequent playoffs.
    If Italy beat Northern Ireland they will face the winner of the other semi-final between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31 away from home.
    If they lose, they will have to play a friendly against the other defeated semi-finalist.
    "We must only have our minds on Thursday's match.

There are no excuses," said coach Gennaro Gattuso, referring to a number of injuries, including the problem that forced Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa to pull out of the squad on Monday.
    "It'd be too easy to use that.

Other teams have injuries, it's inevitable after 30 matches in the season.
    "We've worked a lot, my staff and I have done all we can. Now, it's time to think about the match on Thursday and nothing else," added Gattuso, who was a key part of Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning team and who took over as coach after Luciano Spalletti was sacked following defeat to Norway in the opening qualifier.
    "I hope, with all my heart, that we achieve this goal, the group deserves it.
    "There's no need to stress the players out, they know what we're playing for. Obviously, there's going to be a bit of tension, but we must do our best to spread lots of positivity".
   

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