Italy will kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday (2:45 pm ET), trying to qualify for their first World Cup in 12 years, with a trip up north to take on Norway.

Norway currently leads Group I, putting it in position to qualify directly to the World Cup, though there's a lot of time still left to go. Italy has yet to play a Group I match.

Since becoming its own nation, Moldova has never qualified for the World Cup, having not won a match during qualification since the lead-up to the 2014 tournament. Moldova has lost both of its first two matches of qualification this year, losing to Norway, 5-0, back in March, before losing a spirited 3-2 affair to Estonia.

The Italian national team has been left in shock ahead of the 2026 World Cup after Claudio Ranieri rejected the offer to become head coach following Luciano Spalletti's dismissal.

Claudio Ranieri does not even want to try where Roberto Mancini and Gian Piero Ventura failed — to take four-time champion Italy back to the World Cup.

Luciano Spalletti says he would be the ‘first one to cheer’ if Claudio Ranieri were appointed head coach of the Italy national team on the day of his final match in charge of the