Italy got their World Cup qualifying campaign off the mark with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland in their Group C qualifier in Parma on Thursday.

Domenico Berardi and Ciro Immobile scored in the first half in the Stadio Ennio Tardi as the hosts extended their unbeaten run under coach Roberto Mancini to 23 games.

Mancini took over after the four-time World Cup winners failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament, missing the finals for the first time in 60 years.

Continue reading this article on Sports Desk. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.