You can say that North Macedonia is not so weak, you can say that Italy is not so strong, or maybe this is why the Blues can quickly fall off the altar and miss the Round of 32 of the World Cup just a few months after winning the European Championship. Because the previous winning streak, unbeaten and cup-winning masked some problems, Italy is indeed not strong enough to fight invincible hands in the world with a group of people, in fact, any team is like this, there is no reserve strength to supplement, even if good results are obtained, I am afraid it is only a flash in the pan.
The semi-finals of the play-offs against North Macedonia were originally seen as a "small test", after all, everyone thought that the Italians' final "decisive battle" would be a bloody fight with the Portuguese, but what they did not expect was that the opponent did come as promised, and he fell at the feet of North Macedonia. Against balkan teams, the Italians are not unappreciated, nor are they not hardworking, but they are indeed inferior to their opponents in terms of their ability to seize opportunities, 32 shots lost to the team with 4 shots, and it is also reasonable for the Italians to hold their breath.
"Defeated the Italians in the way of the Italians", this is the headline used by many media after the game, of course, this is also a fact, the opponent also admitted that this is one of their most successful tactics, that is, to defeat the enemy in the way of the opponent, so for the Italians, they really can't take North Macedonia in terms of strength? Although the opponents had beaten Germany in the group stage, the Blues were also the dominant side in every sense, but the truth was that they did lose.
The key word Mancini said was "luck", and the manager, who gave the team unlimited glory last year, said that since winning the championship, the Italian seems to have used up all his luck and has not performed satisfactorily. But football relies on strength and performance on the field, luck is only part of it, the aging of the player composition and the fatigue and decline in the state brought about by the continuous conquest of the players are the biggest problems facing this Italian team, the main combination of the back line is still Juventus two old Bonucci and Chiellini, if the two are not injured, the pair of veterans who add up to more than 70 years old will start the game, and the front line in addition to the young general Raspadori, is still in The old faces of Insigne and Immobile, No matter how well they play, they are also veterans over 30 years old, and the continuous conquest can be said to have caused their bodies to be greatly impacted, so it is logical that the state will decline and eventually lead to such a result.
The European Championship triumph was gratifying enough, but it did mask a lot of problems, and while The Italian fans were basking in joy, they didn't know that another crisis of missing the World Cup had quietly descended on them. The Blues became the fourth team in history to win the previous European Championship but missed the next World Cup, the previous three "unlucky eggs" were the former Czechoslovakia, Denmark and Greece.
The four-time World Cup winner has missed the World Cup twice in a row, which does make it difficult for italians to calm their emotions. The only good news is that they can prepare for 2026 ahead of schedule.
Text/Beiqing Sports Zhang Kunlong