Italy has just been kicked out of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by lowly-ranked North Macedonia in one of the biggest upsets in football in recent memory.

The Azzurri won Euro 2020 last summer and narrowly missed out on automatically qualifying for the World Cup to Switzerland.

They had been expected to at least make the final of the playoff where they will face Portugal, and it would have been understandable if they had lost to Cristiano Ronaldo’s national team.

However, they needed to eliminate the lowly, but as eventually proven, motivated North Macedonia in Palermo to make the final, but that never happened.

The visitors stunned them with a late goal after Italy had been in control for much of the match, but Giorgio Chiellini has defended his teammates and said they played well, but the goal was missing.

He said via Football Italia: “It’s not like we didn’t create the chances, we had 32 shots on goal. We barely risked anything at the back either.

“Maybe it’s difficult for us to read the situation from so close, but the lads gave their all and we hoped for a different result.”

Juve FC Says

Sadly, Italy would not be at the next World Cup, considering the array of stars the Azzurri national team has at their disposal.

Their absence from the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition means a generation of players have missed the chance to represent their country in the showpiece.

It could also see Chiellini retire from international football because he would hardly play when the next competition starts.