Luciano Spalletti leads Italy to win in World Cup qualifying in final game as coach

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With a parting gift for Luciano Spalletti, Italy beat Moldova 2-0 on Monday for its first points in the beleaguered national team’s attempt to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

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Spalletti was informed ahead of the game in Reggio Emilia that he would be losing his job as Italy coach in the wake of the team’s 3-0 loss in Norway last week, which marked a dreadful way to begin its qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

Goals by Giacomo Raspadiro and Andrea Cambiaso meant Spalletti at least departed with a victory. Yet the Azzurri remained in a perilous position in Group I, with Norway beating Estonia 1-0 — thanks to Erling Haaland’s 62nd-minute goal — to make it four wins from four halfway through qualifying.

Italy stayed nine points behind Norway — albeit having played two fewer matches — and might have missed a good chance to rack up some goals to boost its goal difference.

Only the top team from each of the 12 groups qualifies automatically for next year’s expanded 48-team tournament in North America. The runners-up go into the playoffs — the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia to miss out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively, in a humiliation for one of Europe’s traditional powers.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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