On March 24, local time, the World Cup European Qualifier play-off was a big hit, and the European Championship champion Italy suffered a final defeat at home to North Macedonia in the Group C match, and was 0:1 out.
This is the second consecutive time that the team has missed the World Cup final after losing to Sweden in the 2018 World Cup qualifier play-offs.
It was Trajkovski who scored a killer goal for North Macedonia, who sent the European champions out of the World Cup with a long-range shot from Italy in the final moments of the match.
In the next round, North Macedonia will face Portugal, which won 3:1 against Turkey in this round, and the winner will receive a direct world cup place.
In this game, many players of the Italian team were absent, and wingers Chiesa Junior, Bonucci and Di Lorenzo did not play due to injury.
After the opening, the Italian team had an overwhelming advantage in the scene, with a total of 32 shots on goal, of which Berardi won 8 shots, but the Italian team that surrounded the opponent failed to convert into a goal, and the shots of Villati, Immobile, Belaardi Florenzi and others were unsuccessful.
In contrast, North Macedonia, the dark horse team that scored the European Championship for the first time last year withstood the pressure, did not even enter the Italian penalty area in the first half, and only had 4 shots on goal, but in the stoppage time, this team gave Italy a fatal blow, Trajkovski near the top of the arc of the penalty area, with a long-range shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, Italy was eliminated.
At present, North Macedonia is still one game away from the World Cup, and the opponent is Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In this round, Portugal won 3-1 against Turkey with goals from Otavio, Jota and Núñez to advance to the final of the European Zone play-offs.