It’ll feel like one long version of extra time, which will be played in two cities separated by almost 1,800 kilometres. The final whistle blown by Anthony Taylor at the Olimpico didn’t quite put an end to Italy vs. Switzerland, which will reach a true conclusion tomorrow in Belfast and Lucerne. Up for grabs is nothing less that direct qualification to the World Cup, without the necessity of going via the playoffs that were so fatal for Ventura’s Azzurri

“We’re feeling the pressure a little bit,” said Roberto Mancini in his press conference. “We know that it’s a really important game but we need to play without fear, which is what happened after we conceded against Switzerland. Three years ago, it would have been unthinkable to witness what this team has done. It’s only normal that, on any path, there are tricky times and tomorrow will certainly fall under that bracket. But the boys mustn’t forget what they’ve done and just need to play with calmness. It would be a repeat exam in March [in the playoffs] but we want to qualify now.”

The Azzurri, who trained this evening at Windsor Park, have a +2 goal difference as it stands over Switzerland and know that a win tomorrow is vital to avoid being overtaken – as well as preferably scoring as many goals as possible. It’ll be anything other than simple considering that, in their three home games in qualifying, Northern Ireland haven’t conceded a single goal. What’s more, Italy have never won in Belfast and lost in the Northern Irish capital in 1958, which cost the Azzurri qualification for the World Cup in Sweden. “We need to try to win and it won’t be easy,” Mancini declared. “If we score a lot of goals, we’ll be happier and we’ll have more chances to qualify. They have conceded very little at home, defend in numbers and do so very well. We’ll need to play with tempo and try to keep the ball on the deck.”

Tomorrow too, Mancini will have to make do with affair few notable absentees. As it was against Switzerland, Italy are without European champions in Chiellini, Spinazzola, Verratti and Immobile, while, in the last 48 hours, Calabria, Bastoni, Biraghi and Sirigu have all left the camp. There will likely be the odd change tomorrow night but Barella is available, as advertised by Mancini: “He’s fit and is doing better than he was against Switzerland.” He may call upon Tonali, who “has grown a lot and might start.” He was coy when asked who would be starting up front: “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a false 9 or a proper striker, what matters is mentality.”

Lorenzo Bonucci will, once again, captain the side in the absence of Chiellini and will play his 114th game for Italy, reaching the tally of his long-term centre-back partner in sixth in the all-time appearance list for the Azzurri. His hope is to celebrate a win and qualification to the World Cup: “It will need to be the Italy that we say in qualifying for the Euros, at the Euros and in the first matches in World Cup qualifying,” he said. “We’ll need to bring home a big result, forgetting the recent past. Being the reigning champions of Europe doesn’t give us the right to win without first playing, so we need to put those thoughts and the draw with Switzerland aside. We just have to look ahead and concentrate on the game that we need to play. I’m sure that we’ll put in a great performance.”

After Jorginho’s penalty miss against Switzerland (his third consecutive missed spot-kick), Bonucci could take over the duty, but nothing is decided: “He’s taken a lot of penalties, important ones too. It was a mistake that can happen to anybody and I won’t take any penalties tomorrow evening. We’ll make a decision later.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Davide Zappacosta (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Tommaso Pobega (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Milan);
Attackers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).