Italy traditionally hold international matches across the country and since the start of 2022 they have played at 11 different home venues.
The biggest matches are usually held at Milan’s San Siro or Rome’s Stadio Olimpico – both of which have a capacity of over 70,000 – but not the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland.
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So why did the Italian team choose to play their biggest game in four years at the New Balance Arena, which can only hold 24,900 people and has only played one game here since 2022?
“Bergamo and Atalanta are great examples of European football. It’s a nice venue and an important venue for Italian football,” said Italian journalist Daniel Verri.
“It’s not the San Siro or the Stadio Olimpico, but it can cook.
“It’s a small stadium with a good atmosphere. If the game gets tense, people make their voices heard.”
Serie A side Atalanta plays home games at Bergamo’s New Balance Arena [Getty Images]
Since winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy’s record in the World Cup has been dismal.
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They failed to advance out of the group in 2010 and 2014, and did not even qualify for the last two World Cups after losing to Sweden and North Macedonia in the play-offs.
It’s all even more puzzling when you consider that they finished runners-up at Euro 2012, reached the quarter-finals four years later and won the entire tournament in the postponed 2020 tournament.
With this in mind, Italy is under pressure not to become the first World Cup winner to miss three consecutive World Cups.
Has Italy played in Bergamo before?
New Balance Stadium is the home stadium of Serie A team Atalanta, which is currently ranked seventh.
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It is located in the city of Bergamo in the country’s Lombardy region, about 40 minutes’ drive from Milan.
The stadium opened in 1928 and completed a five-year renovation project in 2024.
In 1964, the Italian team played its first international match here, but in the 1988 European Cup qualifiers against Malta, the Italian team did not play on the court again for the next 23 years.
The wait was even longer, until the Azzurri made their debut again in November 2006 in a friendly match against Turkey in Bergamo.
With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic still lingering, they hosted the Netherlands in October 2020 in front of just 600 fans and beat Estonia 5-0 in 2026 World Cup qualifiers under new coach Gennaro Gattuso.
Italy has played matches in 11 different venues since the start of 2022 [BBC Sport]
Their 2018 play-off tie was lost to Sweden at the San Siro, they also lost to Norway in the current qualifiers and they missed out on the 2022 World Cup after losing to North Macedonia in front of 35,000 people in Palermo.
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The win over Estonia was Gattuso’s first game as manager and Verri believes superstition may have played a role in his decision to play in Bergamo, where Italy remain unbeaten.
“We definitely felt the need to advance and there was a lot of pressure,” Verry said.
“We missed two World Cups in a row, which is a disaster for Italian football.
“Missing the third one will be very difficult.”
O’Neal ‘delighted’ with venue
It should be beneficial for Northern Ireland to play at smaller venues.
In fact, head coach Michael O’Neal even said he was “glad” the game was being played at New Balance Arena.
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The stadium has a similar capacity to Northern Ireland’s home ground, Windsor Park, with a capacity of 18,500, creating the same welcoming and boisterous atmosphere.
O’Neill pointed out that most of his players play club games, whether in the Championship or League One, in stadiums with crowds between “10,000 and 25,000”.
“I think we will feel at home in Bergamo and we will not be intimidated by the atmosphere here at all,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Obviously the Italians and Gennaro Gattuso have their reasons for going there, but we’re happy with the choice of venue. I think it suits us, to be honest.”
Bergamo’s New Balance Arena was renovated in 2024 and has a capacity of 22,500 people. [Getty Images]
O’Neill told BBC Sport NI after announcing his squad that he “can only imagine” the scrutiny Italy will face as they enter the play-offs.
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“For them, they may be interested in taking the pressure off themselves by playing in Bergamo.
“They have missed the last two World Cups, which is unheard of for Italy and they have huge expectations and pressure.”
Therefore, both sides have their own reasons for choosing the venue for the play-off semi-finals.
For the Italian team, the pressure to qualify is huge, and for the visiting team, the size of the stadium will also have a sense of familiarity.
Time will tell who it suits better.
This article is the latest article from BBC Sports If you have any questions, you can ask me team.
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