Italy will look to book a spot in the World Cup finals next summer when it takes on a struggling Czech Republic team on Tuesday.
The winner of the group gets an automatic spot in the tournament next summer. The second place side has another two-legged playoff to endure in order to secure its spot among the 32 competitors next summer.
With a win, the Italians would have 20 points with only two games remaining; second place Bulgaria can only capture a maximum of 19 points if it wins its final three qualifying matches.
"I hope that it's a night of celebrations for everyone. My personal situation will only be satisfying to me if we qualify for the World Cup," said Italian Captain Gianluigi Buffon, according to Yahoo Sports. Buffon will tie Fabio Cannavaro as Italy's most capped player if he performs on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic sits in third place with nine points. The nation had a huge chance to jump into second place on Friday against Armenia, but wound up losing 2-1 in stoppage time. Czech Republic is now in a tie with Denmark for third place; fortunately all three sides are one point behind second place Bulgaria. For Czech Republic, a loss or draw could potentially mean losing ground to one of the other teams locked in battle for second.
Last time Italy and the Czechs did battle, the two sides wound up drawing 0-0.
Prediction: Italy pulls off a 1-0 win.
Start Time: 2:45 p.m. EST
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