Overview
- Italy confirmed Riccardo Calafiori has left camp and returned to Arsenal before Sunday’s Group I finale against Norway.
- Calafiori missed the Moldova match and spent five days without full training due to a persistent hip problem.
- Gennaro Gattuso had lined up Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Buongiorno as alternatives, with the San Siro match proceeding without Calafiori.
- Norway’s 4-1 win over Estonia and Italy’s 2-0 victory over Moldova leave Italy needing a nine-goal win to take top spot, making the play-offs the likely path.
- Martin Ødegaard is poised to captain Norway at the World Cup barring an extraordinary collapse, while Estonia’s Karl Hein started in the defeat to Norway.