Before the attack on North Macedonia, Italian coach Mancini vowed, "Our goal is to win the World Cup. However, he gave himself a slap in the face, and after losing at home to North Macedonia, Italy missed two consecutive World Cup appearances. What is even more surprising is that in two consecutive World Cup qualifiers, Italy has been out in the same way.
After the 5-0 win over Lithuania in the penultimate round of the group stage, Italy was in a good situation. However, Italy later drew with Switzerland and Northern Ireland, and scored only 1 goal in both matches, and was eventually overtaken by Switzerland by 2 points, had to play in the play-offs, and was in the same group as Portugal.
Against North Macedonia, Italy had a good time and place, with 65.7% of the ball and 32 shots on goal, compared with only four against their opponents. However, neither Inmobile, Insigne, Berardi nor Raspadori were able to tear apart the opponent's goal. Instead, North Macedonia, which was almost a no-threat for the entire game, instead used a long-range shot from outside the box to break through the Italian goal.
This scene is very similar to 5 years ago, with Italy returning home in the first leg away to Sweden. However, Italy did not score a single of 27 shots on goal, and the opponent only had 4 shots on goal and 1 shot on target, and the two teams eventually exchanged blanks.
Also very similar is that five years ago, when it was time to score, Ventura even tried to replace De Rossi, but was rejected by the Roma captain. Four years later, when Italy needed to score, Mancini was replaced by Raspadori, Pellegrini and Chiellini.
Mancini would have had more options, but he did not call Skamaka, Zaniolo and Belotti into the squad. Perhaps, he paid a heavy price for his own contempt.
After winning the European Championship, why Italy will miss the World Cup after just 9 months. The reason may be precisely because of the European Championship, after the European Championship, Italy has only achieved 1 win and 4 draws in 5 qualifiers, and only scored 2 goals in 4 draws.
After the exit, Mancini said, "After the European Cup, luck turned into bad luck and from September onwards, we kept encountering some incredible things. ”
In fact, winning the European Championship has covered up Italy's problems in the lineup and tactics, and Chiesa's injury has made Italy's attack less of the most important flashpoint. Chiellini admitted, "From September to now, we have made mistakes and we have paid for them. ”
Two consecutive World Cups have stopped qualifying, and Italy's performance is indeed surprising. However, being eliminated in the same way shows that Italy has not really solved the problem and that the European Championship is only a flash in the pan.