At 3:45 Beijing time on March 25, the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers and the Semi-Final of Group C of the European Zone Play-off ushered in a key battle, Italy against North Macedonia.
Unexpectedly, in this match where there is a gap in the overall strength of the two sides, Italy finally lost to North Macedonia by a score of 0-1, and as the European champion, it was declared that it did not qualify for the World Cup!
It was a rather regrettable game, the more powerful Italy, as the world's 6th+ European Cup champion, occupied an absolute advantage in the whole game, 66% possession, 32 shots on goal, 5 shots on target, it can be described as a wild bombardment, but the efficiency is extremely low, and there is no splash.
The number one striker, Mobile, made seven shots on goal but only 1 on target, Belaardi missed a great opportunity to empty the goal, and the two important players in the front line repeatedly missed opportunities.
In contrast, although North Macedonia only has 34% possession, 4 shots on goal, and 2 shots on target, it is one of them that completely ends the suspense of the game and is extremely efficient.
In the 91st minute of the game, North Macedonia launched a strong counterattack, 29-year-old striker Trajkovsky received the ball outside the box and kicked a powerful long-range shot, the score on the field became 0-1, north Macedonia completed the final game!
When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, the score was locked at 0-1, and the defensive North Macedonia achieved a miraculous result.
They successfully defeated The European Champion Italy to advance to the final of the play-offs, and they will face Portugal led by Ronaldo on the 30th to determine a World Cup regular place.
In contrast to the excited North Macedonian players, the Italian players were eclipsed, and after experiencing the inability to break into the 2018 World Cup, the Blues failed to participate in the World Cup for two consecutive years.
It has to be said that Italy's chance grasping ability is really too poor, 32 shots on goal but can not score a goal. The reason for such a race result, although there is also an element of luck, but it may be more likely that the pre-match preparation is not very sufficient, and it is not expected that North Macedonia will become a roadblock.
Jorginho is an important Italian midfielder, and as the 20-21 UEFA Player of the Year who won the European Championship and the Champions League, he conceded key penalties in two previous rounds against Switzerland.
In my mind, his penalty shoot-out was quite solid and the success rate was high enough. But it is puzzling that it was his penalty streak and the team's lack of scoring from the front that forced Italy to enter the play-offs. The Blue Legion, which missed the opportunity again and again, tasted the evil consequences and was eliminated.
In the past, Italian football stood at the peak of world football, the national team won the World Cup four times in its history, the local players were strong, and the league was full of superstars.
However, the Blues have not made it to the knockout stage of the World Cup since the peak of the 2006 World Cup, and the 2014 World Cup was declared out of the group stage.
Over the years, Italy's record in the competition has been declining, and it has been difficult to create a good result to win the 2020 European Championship, and I did not expect to miss the World Cup as a European champion team now!
If the fans want to see Italy compete in the World Cup, it will be at least another 4 years...