Italy-Israel qualifier expected to attract less people than nearby pro-Palestinian march

By Canadian Press on October 13, 2025.

UDINE, Italy (AP) — Israel’s World Cup qualifying match against Italy will still be played in a strange climate on Tuesday despite a breakthrough ceasefire deal that has paused two years of war in Gaza.

Security will be tight at the stadium in Udine and throughout the city.

A pro-Palestinian march is scheduled to start in the city center a few hours before kickoff and is expected to attract around 10,000 people. It is expected to be kept away from the stadium which is on the outskirts of the city.

The demonstration could feature more people than the match as just over 9,000 tickets have been sold for the qualifier at 25,000-seat Stadio Friuli. Even that represents a late flurry, with ticket sales having doubled over the past week.

The match will be played four days after the ceasefire in Gaza took effect and the day after all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free as part of the ceasefire agreement.

“They are beautiful images, we’re all so happy,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said on Monday. “We thank (the stadium spectators) because they will be very, very important for us and we also respect those who will be outside.

“I’m disappointed as so many families wanted to bring their children, they could have come to a night of celebration, but we respect also those that will be outside. We are happy that the war has been stopped.”

Italy also played Israel a year ago in Udine, which was chosen because of the relative difficulty of reaching the city in north-east Italy, near the Slovenian border, and the ease of isolating the stadium, where road blocks will be set up all around.

There will also be helicopters flying throughout the day and a high police presence, ahead of a match that has been placed in the highest-risk category.

Ahead of Israel’s previous match in Norway, around 1,000 protesters walked to the stadium in Oslo.

Protesters approached the gates of Italy’s training center in Florence 10 days ago to demand that the Israel match not go ahead — part of a national strike in which millions of activists took to the streets.

UEFA considered suspending Israel over the war and Udine Mayor Alberto Felice De Toni called for the game to be postponed.

Gattuso said he hasn’t discussed the situation with his players.

“I’ve talked to them about the game itself,” Gattuso said. “But they know, I don’t have to tell them anything, they know that there will be a lot of people outside the stadium … but we will focus on what we have to do.”

Italy needs to beat Israel to close in on at least a playoff spot as it attempts to avoid missing a third straight World Cup.

Italy is second in its group, six points behind perfect Norway and three ahead of Israel. Both of them have played one game more than the Azzurri.

Only the group winner advances directly to next year’s tournament in North America. The second-place finisher progresses to a playoff — the stage where four-time champion Italy was eliminated during qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press