Late goals from Gianluca Mancini and Francesco Pio Esposito helped Italy to a 2-0 win against Moldova on Thursday, keeping alive their faint hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a sixth consecutive victory.
The result moved Italy to 18 points, three behind group leaders Norway, who earlier defeated Estonia 4-1. The two teams meet each other on Sunday on the last qualifying day. The Azzurri now face what seems an impossible task: they must win and overturn Norway’s goal difference of 17.
«I saw an Italy playing well, we were there and Moldova never shot on target,» Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso told Rai. “I’m very pleased, we did what we had to do and gave a number of boys some playing time.”
It had long been a dull affair, with Italy controlling possession and creating the clearer chances but being repeatedly frustrated by Moldova’s resilient defence.
Giacomo Raspadori was denied early and Mancini went close midway through the first half, while the hosts produced only one real scare when Virgiliu Postolachi fired over from a promising position.
Gattuso tried to inject some life into his attack after the break by introducing strikers Esposito and Mateo Retegui, but the Azzurri continued to struggle to beat the hosts.
The visitor finally broke through in the 88th minute when substitute Federico Dimarco whipped in a cross for Mancini, whose diving header found itself neatly into the near bottom corner.
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Esposito sealed the victory two minutes into stoppage time, rising to meet Matteo Politano’s cross and nodding in his second international goal.
“It is not easy to set up a new line-up from the first minute,” said Gattuso. “Today I thought we might even lose, but instead congratulations for what we did.”
Italy, who failed to reach the last two World Cups after successive play-off defeats, will now try to avoid a third straight absence. Moldova remains winless and is at the bottom with one point.
Published on November 14, 2025
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