Preview: Italy vs Estonia - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to build some momentum behind their World Cup 2026 campaign, Italy will welcome Estonia to Bergamo on Friday evening.

Nine points adrift of top spot in Group I, the Azzurri are in danger of missing out on a third straight global finals, so they need to improve quickly under new management.

Match preview

It was a bizarre end to an unsuccessful reign as Italy's national coach for Luciano Spalletti, who was actually relieved of his duties before taking charge of his final match.

Though he left with a 2-0 win against Moldova, Spalletti had announced his own sacking at a press conference one day earlier, shortly after a disappointing defeat to Norway.

Bearing the scars of successive World Cup qualifying failures, the Azzurri began their quest to end 12 years of hurt with a 3-0 loss in Oslo, leaving them trailing far behind the Norwegians in Group I.

Albeit with two games in hand due to their participation in the UEFA Nations League finals, Italy now have plenty of catching up to do under new boss Gennaro Gattuso - an unexpected appointment in many quarters.

Claudio Ranieri was first approached to succeed Spalletti but preferred to stay at Roma, so the ex-AC Milan midfielder and Napoli coach was then tasked with reviving La Nazionale.

Ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, they now resume qualifying with a crucial double-header against Estonia and Israel, which must surely produce six points if they are to avoid the playoffs.

While four-time winners Italy have twice failed to make the World Cup in recent years - either side of being crowned European champions - Estonia are still waiting for their first appearance at any major tournament.

The little Baltic nation have also lost all six previous meetings with Friday's opponents, most recently suffering a 4-0 friendly defeat in November 2020.

Having narrowly avoided relegation from their last Nations League group and stayed in League C, Estonia then kicked off their latest qualifying campaign by losing 2-1 to Israel.

Then, the Blueshirts edged out Moldova in a five-goal thriller, before being beaten at home by both Israel and Norway; leaving them level with Italy on three points.

So, Jurgen Henn's men are still technically in the mix for an unlikely top-two finish, even if three higher-ranked teams sit above them.

Italy World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Italy form (all competitions):

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Estonia World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Estonia form (all competitions):

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Team News

Gattuso has stated that Italy will revert to a four-man defence, following their failed experiment with a three-man back line under Luciano Spalletti.

The exact makeup of his first XI is fairly uncertain, but captain Gianluigi Donnarumma - fresh from completing a move to Manchester City - is sure to start between the posts.

Destiny Udogie, Samuele Ricci and new Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca have been dropped; called up for the first time, Francesco Pio Esposito, Giovanni Fabbian and Liverpool's Giovanni Leoni are all available.

Meanwhile, Mateo Retegui - who scored twice for new club Al-Qadisah at the weekend - will vie with Moise Kean and Giacomo Raspadori for selection up front; Gianluca Scamacca has been forced to pull out.

Estonia named a 26-man squad for Friday's game and an upcoming home friendly against Andorra, with skipper Karol Mets again missing out due to injury.

Werder Bremen goalkeeper Karl Hein - owned by Arsenal - should start behind a defence featuring ex-Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Maksim Paskotsi.

Veteran striker Henri Anier is the visitors' leading active scorer, but Rauno Sappinen is more likely to lead their attack.

Italy possible starting lineup: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Barella, Locatelli, Tonali; Politano, Kean, Zaccagni

Estonia possible starting lineup: Hein; Tur, Kuusk, Paskotsi, Saliste; Shein, Soomets; Yakovlev, Kait, Sinyavskiy; Sappinen