<p>Italy started its World Cup qualifying campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Northern Ireland on Thursday as the Azzurri set out to rectify their failures from four years ago.</p>
<p>Italy didn’t qualify the 2018 World Cup in Russia — missing the tournament for the first time in six decades — but cemented its status as the Group C favorite as Domenico Berardi and Ciro Immobile scored in the first half in Parma.</p>
<p>Italy next has two away matches, against Bulgaria on Sunday and Lithuania three days later. Northern Ireland hosts Bulgaria next Wednesday.</p>
<p>Switzerland won 3-1 in Bulgaria in the other Group C match.</p>
<p>Italy had only lost once to Northern Ireland, in nine meetings, although that defeat saw it fail to qualify for the 1958 World Cup.</p>
<p>Berardi opened the scoring with the first real chance as he ran onto a ball over the top from Alessandro Florenzi, burst down the right and cut inside before firing into the roof of the net from a tight angle. It was Berardi’s fourth goals in his past five Italy matches.</p>
<p>Italy almost doubled its lead moments later, following another dangerous ball over the top, but Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell saved Immobile’s shot.</p>
<p>Immobile did get on the scoresheet six minutes from halftime, running onto Lorenzo Insigne’s through ball and firing into the bottom left corner.</p>
<p>It was a Immobile’s first Italy goal since 2019 and the Lazio forward — who won the European Golden Shoe last year — celebrated by punching and kicking the corner flag.</p>
<p>There was a scare for Italy 10 minutes after the break as a poor backpass from Azzurri midfielder Manuel Locatelli set clear Gavin Whyte but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma parried with his feet and then made a second save to deny Michael Smith.</p>
<p>It was another clean sheet for Italy, which has now conceded just three goals in 13 matches.</p>
<p>In Sofia, Switzerland scored all its goals in the first 13 minutes on its way to a comfortable win.</p>
<p>Breel Embolo headed Switzerland in front in the seventh minute, Haris Seferović doubled the visitor’s lead in the 10th with a fine strike into the bottom left corner and Steven Zuber tapped in three minutes later after fine work from Xherdan Shaqiri.</p>
<p>Kiril Despodov pulled one back for Bulgaria right at the start of the second half.</p>
<p>Switzerland is hoping to qualify for a fifth successive World Cup for the first time. Bulgaria has not reached the World Cup since 1998 when it went out in the group stage, four years after a fourth-place finish.</p>
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