Serie A

Which Serie A games could be moved for Italy’s World Cup play-off

November 21, 2025

44 views

2 minute read

Which Serie A games could be moved for Italy’s World Cup play-off

MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 29: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale competes for the ball with Pablo Mari’ of ACF Fiorentina during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on October 29, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has called for Serie A games to be moved ahead of the World Cup play-off in March 2026; here are the matches that could be rescheduled for the national team.

Italy will meet Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semifinal on March 26, 2026, and Gattuso is concerned about having limited time to prepare for the match.

The are no more international breaks until March 2026, so Gattuso has suggested moving the Serie A fixtures originally scheduled for the weekend before the play-off to give the team more time to prepare for the Northern Ireland game.

Serie A games that might be rescheduled for Italy

epa11916402 Torino’s Cesare Casadei and Milan’s Rafael Leao (R) in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Torino FC and AC Milan, in Turin, Italy, 22 February 2025. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

Serie A Round 30 is scheduled to be played on the weekend of March 21 and 22, just a few days before the play-off semifinal. Exact dates and kick-off times have not yet been confirmed because it’s still unclear which teams will still be involved in European competitions at that point. The Serie A fixtures scheduled for that weekend are:

Juventus-Sassuolo

Parma-Cremonese

Cagliari-Napoli

Atalanta-Verona

Genoa-Udinese

Roma-Lecce

Bologna-Lazio

Fiorentina-Inter

Milan-Torino

Como-Pisa

Serie A break after European games in March?

MILAN, ITALY - MARCH 11: The UEFA Champions League trophy is cleaned as it is displayed on a plinth at the side of the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) — MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: The UEFA Champions League trophy is cleaned as it is displayed on a plinth at the side of the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

European matches are scheduled to be played that same week, and of course, Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League games won’t be moved.

The second legs of the Round of 16 will take place on March 17 and 18 in the Champions League and on March 19 in both the Europa League and Conference League.

Gattuso hopes Serie A fixtures coming after those European games will be moved, but it remains to be seen whether Lega Serie A will find a window to reschedule the postponed matches.