Overview

• Gattuso’s first Italy XI is confirmed in a 4-4-2 at Bergamo: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Politano, Barella, Tonali, Zaccagni; Retegui, Kean, with Gianluca Scamacca out due to left‑knee inflammation.
• Italy trail Group I leaders Norway by nine points with two games in hand and a goal‑difference gap (+11 Norway, −1 Italy), making wins and goals critical across the six remaining qualifiers.
• Jannik Sinner, world No. 1 and defending champion, faces Felix Auger‑Aliassime in the US Open semifinals in the late session on Arthur Ashe, scheduled not before 01:00 in Italy, after Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz.
• Recent form and head‑to‑head frame Sinner’s match: Auger‑Aliassime leads 2‑1 overall, but Sinner dominated their last meeting in Cincinnati 6‑0, 6‑2 and has cruised through New York after beating Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.
• Elsewhere in qualifying, Germany lost 2-0 in Slovakia, Spain beat Bulgaria 3-0, and Belgium routed Liechtenstein 6-0 with Kevin De Bruyne on the scoresheet as Lois Openda started but did not score; Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti explained Neymar’s omission as a fitness call and reiterated the goal of winning the next World Cup.