If there is a result that we did not expect on Thursday night, it is this one. Beaten 0-1 by Northern Macedonia, Italy will not go to the World Cup in Qatar. And to make it even worse, Fabrizio Romano, a famous Italian journalist, brought out two statistics that should hurt all Italians tonight…
Indeed, the last match at the World Cup of Italy dates back to… June 15, 2014, or 2839 days. That was in the group match against England. Another stat: the last knockout match of the Squadra Azzura dates back to July 9, 2006 and the final against France. That’s 5737 days ago. An eternity!
As in 2018, Italy will not participate in the World Cup 2022. A huge disillusionment for the midfielder of Paris Saint-Germain, Marco Verratti (29 years), at the bottom of the hole after the defeat against Northern Macedonia (0-1).
“Now it’s hard, it’s hard to understand, it’s a big disappointment. We dominated, we had the obligation to win, we were superior. It’s a big nightmare. We could have done better, soccer is like that. It’s hard, it’s hard to explain. With the team we have, we had everything to play the World Cup. I was very happy this summer and I will always be proud of my teammates. Everyone gave their best, but tonight it was not enough,” sighed the European champion for the RAI.
Portugal must beat Macedonia
Victorious against Turkey (3-1), this Thursday, Portugal will play the final of the playoffs of the World Cup 2022. To reach Qatar, Cristiano Ronaldo’s team will have to beat North Macedonia on Tuesday.
The course of Portugal in these qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup is anything but a long quiet river. Clearly flummoxed in Serbia, a year ago, the 2016 European champion was very afraid during the semi-final of the playoffs against Turkey (3-1), this Thursday in Porto. Despite a two-goal lead at the break, the Lusitanian side dropped their footing and almost conceded the equalizer in the final minutes if not for a missed penalty by Burak Yilmaz. On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s partners will meet Northern Macedonia to fight for the qualification ticket to Qatar.
Fernando Santos’ men qualified for the final at the expense of Turkey (3-1) in Porto. The team of Cristiano Ronaldo was in the lead at the break with goals from Otavio (15th) and Diogo Jota (42nd), but the teammates of Cristiano Ronaldo were shaken by a goal from Burak Yilmaz (65th). The Lille striker then missed the penalty for the equalizer (85th). The Portuguese sealed their success with Matheus Nunes (94th).
