In 5 years, can the strength of a team be completely changed? From a theoretical point of view, there are not many such examples. Even if a fish belly team can be upset in a certain game, it is difficult for them to make sustained progress. However, in every World Cup cycle, there are many teams that have improved significantly, and North Macedonia, which has upset Italy in the early morning, is one of them.
According to statistics, the permanent population of North Macedonia is only 200W, but they have surprised many fans in the process of impacting the World Cup. In the group stage, North Macedonia beat Germany 2-1, breaking the big cold at the time. In the end, after 10 rounds of competition, North Macedonia won a play-off place.
In the draw, North Macedonia had very bad luck and ran into Italy, which ranks highest in FIFA. North Macedonia, on the other hand, is actually the lowest in this European play-off. Perhaps, except for the North Macedonian fans, no one feels that they have the possibility of qualifying.
In the early hours of the morning match against Italy, the play-off team known as the number one package was at an overall disadvantage. But Italy, which has just won the European Championship, can't score in the case of 32 feet on goal. In normal time, North Macedonia was able to hold a 0-0 draw, which was actually a big success. But the bigger surprise came after injury time, when a long-range shot from the 29-year-old Trajkovsky punctured the goal guarded by Donnarumma. The Saudi league player, who is worth only 35W euros, became a national hero in the early hours of the morning.
Such grassroots players abound in North Macedonia. After qualifying for the European Championship for the first time, North Macedonia now has only one match left before its first World Cup trip. If Portugal can be crossed, North Macedonian football may usher in a better spring.
North Macedonia is now ranked 67th, and if they can compete in the World Cup, the ranking is low enough. But in fact, 5 years ago, their trough was far deeper than the fans imagined. Looking at the FIFA rankings in North Macedonia, they were only 166 in March 2017. In 5 years, they soared 99 places, which is definitely a shame for many countries, and it turns out that football can really suddenly break out.
When looking through the rankings of North Macedonia in March 2017, the author also paid special attention to the position of the national football team, which was 86th at that time, 80 places higher than North Macedonia. Compared with now, the national football team has indeed made some progress, but from the real football performance, it seems that the difference between the two is still the same. 5 years is actually enough for a team to undergo transformation, and North Macedonia is obviously another learning goal for the national football team.
After defeating Germany and crossing Italy, North Macedonia's ultimate goal is to reach the main stage of the World Cup. Whether this former European fish belly team can become the biggest dark horse in this World Preliminary Round, let us wait and see.