In the early morning of March 25, Beijing time, the World Preliminary Round European Zone Play-off Group C ended 2 focus battles, the Italian men's football team was eliminated by the North Macedonia men's football team 0-1 upset, and the Portuguese men's football team eliminated the Turkish men's football team 3-1. After that, Portugal and North Macedonia competed for a World Cup spot.
As the 4th World Cup winner, Italy has already missed the 2018 World Cup and now does not want to be a spectator for 2 consecutive years. In the previous group stage, Italy was behind Switzerland due to goal difference, and finally ranked second in the group to enter the play-off stage, and was divided into the same group as Portugal, North Macedonia and Turkey.
In the latest EDITION OF FIFA World Rankings, Italy ranked 6th and North Macedonia 67th.
After the opening, the Italian team controlled the game scene. In the 19th minute, a missed pass from the North Macedonian backfield was intercepted after Berardi burst into the box with the ball, and Mobile's shot from a tight angle was blocked. In the 30th minute, Verratti was straight in the air and was saved for Mobile's volley.
At the end of the first half, the score was still 0-0, italy completed 16 encounters, North Macedonia only 1, according to statistics, this is the first time that Italy has let their opponents touch the ball in their penalty area in the first half of the World Preliminary Round.
In the 92nd minute of the second half, Trajkovski scored a kick from the edge of the penalty area to help North Macedonia finally complete the 1-0 kill, creating the biggest upset in the play-offs, and the whole team celebrated as excited as winning the championship.
Another group match played at the same time, Portugal played at home against Turkey. In the latest edition of FIFA's world rankings, Portugal is ranked 8th and Turkey is 39th, with the two teams most recently meeting in a friendly in 2012, when Portugal lost 3-1 to Turkey.
In the 15th minute, Ronaldo received a cross from his teammate and chose to cross, Bernardo Silva directly shot at the neutral post from outside the penalty area, and Otavio scored to help Portugal take a 1-0 lead.
In the 41st minute, Otavio's cross from the edge of the penalty area was met by Jota's uninterrupted header that helped Portugal extend the score 2-0.
In the 65th minute, Wender sent a cross from the edge of the penalty area, and Ilmaz burst into the box to push the goal and help Turkey recover a goal 1-2.
In the 94th minute, Nunes single-handedly scored to help Portugal seal the win 3-1 and eliminate Turkey. With North Macedonia eliminating Italy and Portugal's final opponents determined, Ronaldo's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup have increased dramatically.