by Italy will miss the World Cup for the second time in a row after a huge upset qualifying round at the hands of North Macedonia.
Just nine months from winning the Euros, Italy suffered another national disgrace on the World Cup stage after missing out in 2018. Aleksandar Trajkovski’s 92nd-minute stunner proved to be the goal that propelled Italy out of the qualifying playoffs.
Italy had qualified for every World Cup between 1962 and 2014 before missing the qualifying knockout round ahead of the 2018 competition, and only missed the World Cup once in their history before the failures consecutive. The loss was Italy’s first loss in World Cup qualification on home soil after a 48-0-11.
It doesn’t come from a lack of possession or attempts in the final third. Yet despite beating North Macedonia 32-4, Italy only managed five shots on target in Palermo against a vigorous defensive effort from the visitors.
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North Macedonia grabbed the headlines a year ago when they handed Germany their first World Cup qualifying loss since 2001, snapping the 2014 world champions’ 35-game unbeaten streak in the 2014 qualifiers. world Cup. It was a lesson the Azzurri did not learn. While winning the Euros was a stroke of redemption, Italy’s recent troubled World Cup record is glaring. Since winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy have failed to make it out of the group stage in 2010 and 2014 before missing two tournaments altogether.
Italy found themselves in the playoffs after drawing four of their eight qualifiers, including their last two in November to finish second in the group. However, the semi-final against North Macedonia was not to be the game that gave him trouble with a possible play-off final against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, who beat Turkey on Thursday.
In the evening’s other World Cup qualifying semi-finals, Wales beat Austria 2-1 thanks to two goals from Gareth Bale, while Sweden beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in extension on the goal of Robin Quaison. Wales will face the winner of Scotland-Ukraine (their semi-final was postponed until June due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), while Sweden will face Poland, who received a let -pass for the final of the playoffs following the expulsion of Russia from the qualifications.
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