To go to Qatar, Italy are going to have to negotiate the play-offs, as was the case four years ago, when the Azzurri were eliminated by Sweden and didn’t make it to Russia. As Roberto Mancini acknowledged, the format this time around is more complicated.

In order to achieve qualification, Italy will need to beat not one but two opponents, with just three sides in the twelve-team play-off tournament eligible for a spot in Qatar. The ten runners-up from the group stage of European qualifying have been joined by two additional teams selected on the basis of the overall UEFA Nations League 2020/21 rankings: Austria and Czech Republic. The twelve teams have been divided into two pots:  Pot 1 contains the seeded sides (the six best runners-up out of the ten groups, to which Italy belong) and Pot 2 the unseeded teams (the four worst runners-up and the two teams who reached this stage through the Nations League).

During the draw at 17:00 CET on Friday 26 November in Zurich, the twelve teams will be placed into three play-off paths containing four teams each (two seeded and two unseeded sides). As a seeded team, Italy will play their semi-final showdown at home, while the venue of the final (29 March) will be established via the draw. Both matches will be straight knockout fixtures.

Pots

Seeded: Portugal, Scotland, ITALY, Russia, Sweden, Wales
Unseeded: Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Austria, Czech Republic