Newspaper picks two teams Italy should avoid in World Cup play-off

La Gazzetta dello Sport picks Sweden and Romania as the two teams Italy will not be happy to meet in the World Cup play-off semifinal in March 2026.

Italy will learn their World Cup playoffs opponents in tomorrow’s draw.

The Azzurri are in pot 1 and will meet one team from pot 4 in the semifinal, playing the one-legged tie at home.

Northern Ireland, Sweden, North Macedonia and Romania are among Italy’s possible opponents.

Wednesday’s printed edition of Gazzetta dello Sport notes that Romania and Sweden are the two teams Italy would be happy to avoid in the play-off semifinal.

Sweden finished at the bottom of Group B with just two points in six games but qualified for the playoffs via the Nations League.

Despite their poor results, they remain the most dangerous opponent from a technical standpoint thanks to the likes of Aleksander Isak, Dejan Kulusevski and Viktor Gyokeres.

Romania are not in their best moment historically, but it is better ‘not to trust’ an experienced coach such as Mircea Lucescu, wrote Gazzetta.

The pink paper added that Northern Ireland are less dangerous when playing away, while North Macedonia’s ‘Catenaccio’ could be a threat for the Azzurri even if they just conceded seven goals against Wales, showing ‘incredible defensive fragility.’