By: Staff Reporter
Italy missed out on the World Cup finals after losing 1-0 at home to North Macedonia in their single-leg playoff semi-finals as Aleksandar Trajkovski’s last-gasp strike earned the visitors a famous win.
The Azzuri, missing out on back-to-back World Cups for the first time in the national team’s storied history, having also failed to get to the tournament in 2018, had a total of 32 shots at goal in the match but still fell short, with North Macedonia going on to play Portugal in the playoff final on Tuesday for a place in Qatar.
“It is a huge disappointment,” Italian midfielder Jorginho said.
“It hurts, it hurts so much. We have always created and dominated matches, but we have not been able to finish teams off. It is not to blame anyone in particular, but it is the reality. I don’t know why we haven’t been able to do this, I am also involved in this, and it hurts me to think about it.”
Missing veteran pairing Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini through injuries, the Azzurri’s makeshift defence was barely troubled in the first half, as all the action took place down the other end.
The Italians, through Domenico Berardi, had the best of the openings, following a mistake by North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski who misplaced a pass. Still, his shot was tame and saved by Dimitrievski. Ciro immobile also wasted a glorious first-half chance for the Azzurri whilst blazing over the bar.
Berardi became once more responsible for wastefulness after the break, blazing over while he should have hit the target, and with their only significant attack of the game, North Macedonia seized their danger.
The Italians did not look in much danger; however, Saudi Arabia-based player Trajkovski had other plans. He scored the winning goal with a low strike from outside the box.
