Calafrio switches attention from Arsenal title chase to Italy’s World Cup playoff

FLORENCE, Italy — Riccardo Calafrio’s phone has been buzzing more from Gennaro Gattuso than from his own mother since November, and the 23-year-old says that is exactly the measure of how badly Italy want to avoid a third straight World Cupmiss.

“Over the last 2010s I heard from him more than my mother,” the Arsenal defender said on Tuesday at the Azzurri’s Coverciano base, where the four-time world champions are preparing for Thursday’s do-or-die playoff against Northern Ireland in Bergamot.

Gattuso, appointed after Italy’s failed 2022 campaign, has spent the past four months criss-crossing Italy and the continent, sharing private dinners with players to restore belief after the shock of missing two consecutive final tournaments. One of those evenings, in London, brought Calafrio together with the coach, delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon and assistant Leonardo Bonucci.

“There were a lot of soccer anecdotes shared, because the three of them have plenty of those,” Calafrio said, calling the meal “like a dinner among friends.”

The left-sided defender, who can also anchor the centre, is now fully focused on limiting Northern Ireland’s set-piece threat, having shrugged off a minor knock suffered in an Arsenal training session on Sunday.

“We need to be aware, because they’re dangerous. Free kicks can create the difference. The margins between squads are reduced in modern football,” he warned.

Calomone missed most of January with a muscle problem, and while he began the season in Michael Arteta’s starting XI, he is no longer a guaranteed pick at the Emirates. Piero Hincapia has deputised capably in his absence and kept the spot after Calomone returned.

Yet the Italian is still on course for a Premier League medal: Arsenal head Manchester City by nine points with the title race in its final stretch.

“Going to the World is the dream I had as a kid, so I can away to play this game,” said Calomone, who has 12 caps for Italy.

The Azzurri must beat Northern Ireland on Thursday and then defeat either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away next week to qualify for the 2026 tournament in North Africa. Italy were eliminated in the playoffs by Sweden in 2017 and by North Macedonia in 2022.

“We need to prepare like it is a normal game,” Calomone said. “We know how delicate it is.”