Italy v Northern Ireland: Manager Ian Baraclough says his team can ‘get something’ in Parma

Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough said his players believe they can avoid defeat in Thursday’s World Cup opener against Italy in Parma.

After missing out on a place at Euro 2020, Northern Ireland is now ranked 45th, but Baraclough remains optimistic.

“As a group we leave with the mindset that we want to go and look for something,” said the manager.

“I don’t care if it’s one of the bigger teams like Italy or one of the so-called small teams. Their goal has to be a positive mindset that we’re going to get something.

“We can go out and create opportunities for ourselves and hopefully seize the opportunities that are presented to us.”

Italy have never lost home World Cup qualification

However, the visitors appear to face a huge task against a nation that has never lost a home World Cup qualifier.

The four-time World Cup winners have won 46 and have drawn in nine of their home qualifiers, while the only losses in Mancini’s 27-game reign have been against the World and European champions. , France and Portugal.

Mancini was named in 2018 after the country’s first failure to advance to a World Cup final in 60 years and the former Manchester City manager led the Azzurri to an impressive Euro 2020 qualification, which included a record of 11 consecutive victories.

In contrast, Northern Ireland boss Baraclough is still looking for his first win for 90 minutes after eight games in charge with his only win so far, the penalty shootout triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-finals of the play-offs of Euro 2020, which came before the bitterly disappointing home loss to Slovakia.

Northern Ireland’s Group C opener in Parma is set to see skipper Steven Davis tie Peter Shilton’s British international side record of 125 with the odds that the Rangers man will beat him next week with the game Sunday’s home friendly against the United States, followed by Wednesday’s second World Cup qualifying game. against Bulgaria at Windsor Park.

With Conor Washington being ruled out due to injury and Liam Boyce unavailable after giving birth to his wife, Baraclough may choose to employ Josh Magennis of Hull City as a lone striker while left-back Jamal Lewis will undergo a late fitness test on his groin injury.

Another offensive option for Baraclough is Kyle Lafferty, who has played twice in Italy, although the manager did not reveal anything about his side’s selection during Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.

“It would be revealing. Kyle obviously can’t wait to get back to Italy after playing here, so I’m sure if he starts or leaves the bench he’ll want to make an impact.”

Baraclough has shown a preference for using a three-man defense in recent games, but it’s possible he thinks more bodies will be needed at the back in Parma.

Besides Davis, Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci is also in line to take a big step forward in Thursday’s game by winning his 100th Italian selection.

However, Mancini’s side are heavily imbued with players aged 21-24, including Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella and Juventus winger Federico Chiesa.

The Italian boss typically employs a 4-3-3 formation, although one of his regular midfield playmakers – Chelsea star Jorginho – is unavailable due to injury.

With Jorginho ruled out, more responsibility in the midfield will likely fall on Paris St-Germain star Marco Verratti.

Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Torino’s Andrea Belotti are among the attackers at Mancini’s disposal although neither have been fully able to replicate their club form in the Azzurri shirt while another striker Moise Kean, on loan at PSG by Everton this season, withdrew from the team on Wednesday because of “fatigue”.

Even though Italy will enter the game as an overwhelming favorite, Mancini insists he doesn’t underestimate Northern Ireland.

“This is our first game in five months and it is against a difficult team to face,” said the Italy manager.

“They are strong physically and have a lot of players playing in the Premier League. We know you can’t go wrong on the World Cup road.”