Italy need only one point from the remaining two Nations League games to be sure of quarter-final qualification, and with it top seed status in the 2026 World Cup draw.
The Azzurri remain top of Group A2 with 10 points following this evening’s 4-1 victory over Israel at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine.
Mateo Retegui converted a penalty before Davide Frattesi and a Giovanni Di Lorenzo brace rounded out the scoreline.
France earned a 2-1 win away to Belgium, despite Youri Tielemans missing a penalty and Aurelien Tchouameni seeing red for Les Bleus.
That leaves them on nine points in second place, while the Red Devils are stranded on four and Israel zero.
Why Italy need Nations League quarter-final spot
The format of the Nations League has changed this year, so the top two will go through to a quarter-final stage rather than only the group winners into the Final Four.
All Italy need to guarantee one of those spots is one point from their final two group games which are away to Belgium on November 14 and at home to France on November 17.
Perhaps more importantly, access to the Nations League quarter-finals would give the Azzurri a guaranteed top seed status in the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying draw.
The group qualifiers will run from March 2025 to March 2026.
Winning EURO 2020 without Pellegrini, demolishing Israel without Pellegrini (yeah, only Israel but still….). Obviously proves that Pellgerini is a liability to Azzurri.