Verratti’s disappointment.
*Scorer: Trajkovski 90’+2.
In the second minute of injury time, Alessandro Bastoni headed the ball to Aleksandar Trajkovski, a player who played for Palermo in the period 2015-2019.
Trajkovski and all the players and coaching staff hugged each other in celebration, while a small number of North Macedonia fans in the stands of Renzo Barbera Stadium (Palermo) jumped up and down with extreme joy.
Trajkovski celebrated in Italy’s extreme pain.
The 1-0 victory put North Macedonia in the match to decide the ticket to the 2022 World Cup on March 29 against Portugal – the team that beat Turkey 3-1 in the match at the same time.
But in reality, in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, there has always been a very different Italy.
In this match, Italy lacked a series of key personnel such as Leonardo Bonucci, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Federico Chiesa, Leonardo Spinazzola, Andrea Belotti… due to injury, while Giorgio Chiellini was only physically fit to sit on the bench.
In the first half, the ball mostly rolled in North Macedonia’s half, but Italy did not create many clear opportunities.
Being rated higher and playing at home, Italy could not score.
Italy maintained the pressure in the second half.
Even when coach Mancini sent Giacomo Raspadori, Sandro Tonali and Lorenzo Pellegrini onto the field, Italy’s offense did not improve.
Attacking too much but failing to score, Italy had to pay a heavy price in injury time.
After the match, Italian media immediately went crazy.
Italy 0-1 North Macedonia
Squad
Italy: Donnarumma, Palmieri, Bastoni, Mancini (Chiellini 90′), Florenzi, Verratti, Jorginho, Barella (Tonali 77′), Insigne (Raspadori 64′), Immobile (Pellegrini 77′), Berardi (Pedro 89′).
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Alioski, Musliu, Velkovski (Ristevski 85), Ristovski (Miovski 71′), Churlinov, Ademi (Askovski 58′), Bardhi, Trajkovski, Nikolov (Spirovski 58′).