ROME (AP) — Sandro Tonali scoring the decisive goal for Gennaro Gattuso’s beleaguered Italy in the World Cup playoffs was a dream that began at the midfielder's breakfast table as a kid.
Every morning Tonali used to drink from a teacup featuring images of Gattuso on it.
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Italy's Moise Kean, left, and teammate Francesco Pio Esposito, right, celebrate after Kean scored his side's second goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso celebrates after the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso celebrates after the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Federico Dimarco, right, celebrates with teammate Sandro Tonali who scored his side's first goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
“That was my routine for many years. Then one day the cup broke and I begged my mother to glue it back together,” Tonali said. “When it was glued back together I had to leave it on a shelf. One day I’ll bring it to (Gattuso) and have him sign it.”
Gattuso should be more than happy to sign it now — after Tonali scored one goal and set up another in the 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in the European playoff semifinals on Thursday.
Playing in Gattuso’s former central midfield position and wearing his idol’s No. 8, Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.
“It was the most important goal of my career,” Tonali said.
Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in qualifying playoffs for the last two World Cups, and was unable to reach the knockout rounds at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. The four-time world champion has not been a threat at soccer’s biggest event since Gattuso was the beating heart of the 2006 team that claimed the Azzurri’s last title.
“I was six but I remember it all very clearly,” Tonali told UEFA.com in October. “It’s probably the only thing I remember from when I was a kid.”
Besides that Gattuso teacup.
Tonali became an AC Milan fan to support Gattuso and then played for his favorite team just after Gattuso’s tenure as Milan coach. So he couldn’t have been happier when Gattuso replaced the fired Luciano Spalletti for the Italy job last June.
“I was happy to have him back in my life,” Tonali said, “and to have him as a coach for the first time.”
Tonali missed the 2024 European Championship while serving a 10-month ban for betting on clubs that he played for.
But his life has taken a positive turn recently after getting married last year and having a son, Leonardo, born in January.
Now, with Newcastle struggling in the Premier League, Tonali has been linked to transfer speculation and possible destinations like Manchester United and Juventus.
Italy next visits Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff finals on Tuesday needing another victory to reach the World Cup in North America.
“We have to win,” Tonali said. “We have no other choices.”
Added fellow midfielder Manuel Locatelli: “We haven’t achieved anything yet.”
Bosnia advanced after 40-year-old Edin Dzeko leveled the score and 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic converted the winning spot kick in a 4-2 penalty shootout win at Wales following a 1-1 draw.
“It’s going to be a tough atmosphere against experienced players,” Gattuso said. “It will be another very tough match."
If Italy does qualify for the World Cup, it will be in Group B with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
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Italy's Moise Kean, left, and teammate Francesco Pio Esposito, right, celebrate after Kean scored his side's second goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso celebrates after the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso celebrates after the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy's Federico Dimarco, right, celebrates with teammate Sandro Tonali who scored his side's first goal during the World Cup qualifying play-off soccer match between Italy and Northern Ireland, in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic incumbents are facing spirited challenges Tuesday in at least two of New York's congressional primaries, the latest proving ground in the high-stakes fight between the progressive left and the party establishment over the Democratic Party's future.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both seeking to stave off candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who's testing the limits of his growing political muscle in the state's first batch of elections since he took office in January.
Mamdani and his slate are promising to push the Democratic Party further left on key issues, the war in Gaza chief among them, even as establishment Democrats in Washington worry that their policies could alienate swing voters in midterm elections across the country this fall.
Goldman faces former city Comptroller Brad Lander while Espaillat, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, faces another Mamdani pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Mamdani is also backing his democratic socialist ally, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who along with the rest of the mayor's candidates has vowed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats, ” Mamdani said Tuesday. “When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics.”
In Washington, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries downplayed the influence of the Mamdani-backed candidates should they prevail Tuesday, which would make them the overwhelming favorites to win congressional seats in November given New York City's strong Democratic makeup.
“We have agreed to strongly disagree,” Jeffries said of Mamdani on Capitol Hill. “There are 215 members of the House Democratic caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”
Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is hoping to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competes in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani has made no endorsement in that race.
The Kennedy scion is running in one of the country's wealthiest congressional districts — covering much of the center of Manhattan — but faces questions about his lack of work experience against more seasoned opponents.
The field includes state Assembly members Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, and Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have triggered tech industry blowback. Also running is George Conway, who helped start the anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, and has centered his candidacy on impeaching the president.
Mamdani, whose first six months in office have drawn praise from establishment Democrats and even President Donald Trump, has made a big push to promote three congressional candidates who are challenging Democrats supported by the party's leadership.
Two of Mamdani's congressional slate identify as democratic socialists, while Lander has often aligned himself with the movement. All three have repeatedly promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned the “genocide” in Israel and vowed to “tax the rich” if elected.
Mamdani's most polarizing pick is Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider. Around an hour before polls closed, she was standing on a street corner in Harlem with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, chatting with voters in a final Election Day push.
On the next corner, a small truck displayed an ad attacking Avila Chevalier, highlighting a disparaging remark she made on social media about former Vice President Kamala Harris. Avila Chevalier had previously apologized for the post.
Espaillat’s allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.
In East Harlem, 47-year-old voter Sara Hyler said she flip-flopped several times between Avila Chevalier and Espaillat in the lead up to Election Day, but eventually cast her ballot for Avila Chevalier after learning about AIPAC’s heavy support for the incumbent.
“It was the breaking point, my last straw,” she said of AIPAC’s donations to Espaillat.
Hyler said it was important to elect a new crop of progressive democrats who aren’t beholden to AIPAC and the Israeli government. “As much as I support Israel, I don’t think we should be paying for them,” Hyler said.
Lander, a fixture of the city's progressive Democrats, got the mayor's endorsement in a race against Goldman, a progressive former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel for Trump’s first impeachment.
The war in Gaza has been a dividing line between the two candidates, both of whom are Jewish. Lander assailed Goldman for not being tough enough on Israel over its military action against Palestinians. Goldman has consistently criticized Israel's government and condemned settler violence but has stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, which Lander has done.
Still, Goldman has amped up his criticism of Israel's war posture in response to Landers' barbs and shifting voter sentiments, all while seeking to keep his campaign focused on the high cost of living and such issues as opposing Trump's agenda.
Mamdani has also backed Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez in a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Reynoso was Velazquez's handpicked successor, but failed to earn the mayor's backing.
Yvette Sanchez, a 30-year-old preschool teacher who voted for Espaillat, said she was put off by Mamdani's attempts to unseat the incumbent in her district and stifle Velazquez’s preferred successor, arguing that the established candidates are supported by Black and Latino communities.
“Do you just think you can insert anyone you want or do you actually want to listen to us?” Sanchez, who supported Mamdani last year, said of the mayor.
In northern New York state, a Trump acolyte with no previous political experience is facing a conservative state lawmaker in the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Anthony Constantino, head of the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, showcased his enthusiasm for the president by putting a massive “Vote For Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings. He also released a hip-hop album titled “Thank You President Trump," and commissioned a statue of Trump and gave it to the president in Florida. Trump has endorsed him.
Constantino's opponent, conservative state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, has strong support from local Republicans and has argued that Constantino's antics, which include regular bashing of the state GOP, make him unfit to serve in the House.
Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.
A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A person campaigns for Democratic Congressional Candidate Jack Schlossberg during New York's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., takes part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Sunday, June 14, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Democratic congressional candidates, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, and Darializa Avila Chevalier gesture on stage with Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Get Out The Vote rally ahead of New York's primary election, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
FILE - A voter completes their ballot at a voting site, in New York, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
