Italy beats Northern Ireland 2-0 in World Cup playoff semifinal. Gyökeres gets hat trick for Sweden

LONDON: (Mar 27) Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.

The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday.

Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.