Six Nerazzurri players in action in the playoffs: all of them through to the final, with Zielinski scoring for Poland

A night to remember as seven Nerazzurri featured on the international stage. Six players were in action for the World Cup playoff semifinals: all of them won and will progress to the World Cup playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday, 31st. Thuram was also in action during the friendly between France and Brazil.

Here is a recap of the matches:

• Barella, Bastoni, Dimarco, and Esposito in Italy vs. Northern Ireland

• Calhanoglu in Turkey vs. Romania

• Zielinski in Poland vs. Albania

• Thuram in Brazil vs. France

ITALY 2-0 NORTHERN IRELAND

A small step in the right direction towards the World Cup for Italy. In Bergamo, the Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 with two goals in the second half from Tonali and Kean to get through to the playoff finals. On Tuesday at 20:45 CET in Zenica, they will take on Bosnia, who, thanks to a goal from Edin Džeko, secured a draw against Wales before winning on penalties.

In the match that took place at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, four Nerazzurri were chosen by coach Gattuso: Bastoni (substituted in the 63rd minute), Barella and Dimarco (who played the full 90 minutes), while Esposito came on for Retegui in the 63rd minute. Davide Frattesi didn't feature.

Next match: Bosnia vs. Italy on Tuesday, 31 March at 20:45 CET | Zenica

POLAND 2-1 ALBANIA

A spectacular night for Piotr Zielinski and Poland, who secured their place in the playoff finals by making a comeback to beat Albania 2-1 at home. Poland's next opponent will now be Sweden.

The visitors took the lead through Hoxha in the 42nd minute. In the second half, Poland began to press harder, and Lewandowski found the equaliser in the 63rd minute, with Zielinski scoring the decisive goal just ten minutes later. It was a phenomenal strike from the Nerazzurri midfielder who was in Poland's number 10 jersey. The goal was a 25-metre right-footed strike, simply sensational. Later in the match, Zielinski was substituted in the 81st minute.

Next match: Sweden vs. Poland, Tuesday 31 March at 20:45 CET | Solna

TURKEY 1-0 ROMANIA

Turkey, captained by Hakan Calhanoglu, also secured their spot in the playoff finals and will face Kosovo on Tuesday, who beat Slovakia 3-4.

At the Vodaphone Park in Istanbul, the Turkish national team, led by the Nerazzurri midfielder, beat Romania 1-0 in the playoff semifinal. The match was sealed by a goal from Kadioglu in the 53rd minute. Calhanoglu (103 caps, the third most in Turkey's history) played 90 minutes before being substituted ahead of stoppage time by Kahveci.

Next match: Kosovo vs. Turkey, Monday 31 March, 20:45 CET | Pristina

BRAZIL 1-2 FRANCE

A top-level friendly at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Brazil vs. France ended 1-2, as Mbappé opened the scoring 32 minutes in, before Ekitike doubled France's lead in the second half. Bremer managed to pull one back for Brazil. Marcus Thuram featured as he came on in the 66th minute.