When will Italy discover World Cup play-off opponents?

Italy’s place in the World Cup play-offs has been confirmed after Sunday evening’s 4-1 humbling by Norway in the final qualification group stage match, so when is the draw and when will the semi-finals and finals take place? 

Italy finished in second place in Group I of UEFA’s World Cup qualification groups,  settling on 18 points with a record of six wins and two losses from eight matches. 

Both of those defeats came against Norway, who finished top of the group with a 100% win record from their eight matches, which has sent them through directly to the final tournament in North America. 

That means that Italy are heading for yet another World Cup play-off campaign, which is where the Azzurri have fallen short during the last two World Cup cycles. 

The draw for the UEFA play-offs will take place on Thursday afternoon (November 20) at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich. 

The draw is scheduled to get underway at 12.00 GMT (13.00 CET), but will start with the inter-confederation play-off draw first, and will be followed by the European play-off draw. 

The World Cup play-off semi-finals are due to be played during the next international break, , specifically on March 26. 

The finals are due to take place a few days later on March 30.