In the early morning of March 25, Beijing time, the World Preliminary Round European Zone play-off broke out a huge cold, North Macedonia eliminated Italy 1-0 away from home, and they will compete with Portugal for a ticket to the Qatar World Cup. North Macedonia, ranked 67th in the world, is arguably the biggest dark horse in Europe at the World Qualifiers, so let's see what makes them different.
From the European Championship to the World Preliminary Round, North Macedonia has been hanging all the way
At last year's European Championship, North Macedonia qualified for the first time in the history of the European Championship, and although he lost three consecutive games in the group stage, Pendev scored his first European Championship goal against Austria. In the World Preliminary Round, North Macedonia also has no shortage of amazing works, such as they have beaten Germany 2-1 away from home, and in Group J, they beat Romania to achieve the second place in the group and get the opportunity to play the play-offs.
When the results of the play-off draw came out, everyone's first thought was: it's over. Because North Macedonia has to face last year's European Championship champions Italy, but also play away. To know that the Italian team has never lost at home in the World Preliminary Round in history, North Macedonia carried 32 shots from italy and seized the opportunity to complete the fatal blow in the 92nd minute, they ended Italy's 59 unbeaten matches at home in the World Preliminary Round! It's a really open-end rhythm.
No big stars! The most valuable player on the team = 24 million
North Macedonia, a small European country with a total population of less than 2.1 million, was the 22-year-old midfielder Elmas who played for Napoli at the German Transfer Market, which reached 24 million euros. However, in the 1-0 elimination of Italy, Elmas did not play. Trajkovski, who scored the winning goal for North Macedonia and is currently playing for Saudi side Fiha for just €350,000, has broken through the door of Donnarumma, the best player in the European Championship, and that's football.
Once a defeated player under the national football team, North Macedonia completed its transformation in 8 years
North Macedonia is currently ranked 67th in the world, while the national football team ranks 75th, and North Macedonia is only 8 places higher than the national football team. But you know, North Macedonia was previously a loser under the national football team, and in 2014 the two sides played a friendly match, and the national football team won 2-0. However, in the past 8 years, North Macedonia has completed its transformation, from defeating the world champions Germany to entering the European Championship, and now only one victory away from entering the World Cup.
Some people have to ask, who can win the current national football team and North Macedonia? As can be seen from the match between North Macedonia and Italy, this is a team that is difficult to beat, the whole is strong and strong, and they can also seize opportunities in the counterattack, which is difficult for the national football team to compare. It has been 20 years since the national football team first entered the World Cup in 2002, and the national football team has been regressing for 20 years, and the dish is very stable.
Ronaldo beware! Portugal did not guarantee a World Cup
Portugal fans were ecstatic to see Italy out of the game, having expected to compete with Italy for a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar, which was destined to be a tough game. But unexpectedly, Portugal's opponents were replaced by North Macedonia, which greatly increased their chances of qualifying for the World Cup.
But North Macedonia was able to eliminate Italy, and Portugal should have given this team enough respect, they did not guarantee the World Cup. North Macedonia is only one last victory away from qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in history, they will certainly use their lives and hold high the banner of anti-reaction, Cristiano Ronaldo and his team need to be patient to find opportunities, Portugal's advantage is to play at home, they need to learn from the defeat of Italy.