North Macedonia did the unthinkable last night when they eliminated Italy from the World Cup qualifying playoff, and it was a night to forget for Italians all over the world.
The Azzurri are the reigning European champions, and we expected them to beat their lowly opponents, especially as it was a game played at home.
However, they couldn’t break down Macedonia’s stubborn defence, and they eventually conceded a late goal from the visitors, which effectively ended their dream of making the global showpiece.
Calciomercato claims the result could have been different if injured Juventus’ star, Federico Chiesa, was on the pitch for the fixture because he had been the star of their team at the Euros.
Juve FC Says
Chiesa is arguably Italy’s best attacker at the moment, and he showed his class at the Euros when he inspired Italy’s run to win the competition.
The attacker has been sidelined with a long-term injury and that has affected his club and country. When he was first injured, we all feared for Italy and their hopes of making the World Cup in Qatar.
Those fears have been proven right and the Azzurri will now miss consecutive World Cup competitions.
