Which Serie A games could be moved for Italy’s World Cup play-off

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has called for Serie A games to be moved ahead of the World Cup play-off in March 2026; here are the matches that could be rescheduled for the national team.

Italy will meet Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semifinal on March 26, 2026, and Gattuso is concerned about having limited time to prepare for the match.

The are no more international breaks until March 2026, so Gattuso has suggested moving the Serie A fixtures originally scheduled for the weekend before the play-off to give the team more time to prepare for the Northern Ireland game.

Serie A Round 30 is scheduled to be played on the weekend of March 21 and 22, just a few days before the play-off semifinal. Exact dates and kick-off times have not yet been confirmed because it’s still unclear which teams will still be involved in European competitions at that point. The Serie A fixtures scheduled for that weekend are:

European matches are scheduled to be played that same week, and of course, Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League games won’t be moved.

The second legs of the Round of 16 will take place on March 17 and 18 in the Champions League and on March 19 in both the Europa League and Conference League.

Gattuso hopes Serie A fixtures coming after those European games will be moved, but it remains to be seen whether Lega Serie A will find a window to reschedule the postponed matches.