Azzurri to welcome Northern Irish
Friday, November 22, 2002
Article summary
Italy and Northern Ireland will face each other in a friendly match on 4 June next year.
Article body
Ideal warm-up
The Azzurri will use the match as a warm-up for their Group 9 home game with Wales next September, while the Northern Irish are due to face Group 6 rivals Spain a week after the friendly which will take place in Italy.
Busy schedule
Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy will also see his side in action on 12 February, when they have a Belfast friendly against Finland. They resume their qualifying campaign the following month with ties away to Armenia and at home to Greece.
Finn double-header
Giovanni Trapattoni's Italy will face Finland away in a March qualifier, before welcoming the Scandinavian side a week after the Northern Ireland match, on 11 June.
Previous meeting
Proceeds from the friendly will go to the disaster fund set up in the wake of the earthquake in the southern region of Calabria. The venue has yet to be decided. The last time the countries met was in Palermo in January 1997, with the Italians winning 2-0.
