Overview
- La Repubblica, cited by Goal.com, reports Verratti suffered a relapse of a prior knee injury after a pre-call-up and will miss the 26 March tie in Bergamo against Northern Ireland.
- The Al-Duhail midfielder has not played since 15 January due to ongoing fitness problems.
- Football Italia reports the veteran was on Gennaro Gattuso’s preliminary list but is now expected to be unavailable for the play-off campaign.
- Reports indicate Nicolò Barella and Sandro Tonali remain set as the midfield pivots, with Manuel Locatelli also expected to feature at the base.
- Italy play Northern Ireland in the semi-final, with a possible 31 March away final against the winner of Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.