Italy is one point behind the quarter-finals of the Nations League and is top seed at the 2026 World Cup

Italy only needs a point from the remaining two Nations League games to secure quarter-final qualification and thus the top spot in the 2026 World Cup draw.

The Azzurri remain top of Group A2 with 10 points after tonight's 4-1 win at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine.

Mateo Retegui converted a penalty before Davide Frattesi and a brace from Giovanni Di Lorenzo rounded out the score.

France earned a 2-1 away win at Belgium despite Youri Tielemans missing a penalty and Aurelien Tchouameni seeing red for Les Bleus.

This puts them in second place with nine points, while the Red Devils have four points and Israel have zero points.

Why Italy needs a quarter-final place in the Nations League

The format of the Nations League has changed this year so that the top two advance to the quarterfinals and not just the group winners to the Final Four.

All Italy needs to secure one of these places is a point from their final two group games, away against Belgium on November 14th and at home against France on November 17th.

Perhaps more importantly, access to the quarter-finals of the Nations League would give the Azzurri guaranteed top seed status in the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying draw.

Group qualifications run from March 2025 to March 2026.