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For  the second edition running, Italy miss World Cup

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Italy v North Macedonia – Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy – March 24, 2022 Italy’s Domenico Berardi reacts REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

The unthinkable happened in Palermo on Thursday as the Azzurri were beaten 1-0 by North Macedonia following a last-gasp goal by Aleksandar Trajkovski in their playoff semifinal.

It was North Macedonia’s only real opportunity after a completely dominant performance by Italy, which missed a number of chances and had several others saved by visiting goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Italy also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after losing to Sweden in a two-legged playoff. Missing two straight World Cups is an unprecedented low point for the four-time champion, especially just months after winning Euro 2020.

North Macedonia will play Portugal on Tuesday for a spot in the tournament in Qatar after Cristiano Ronaldo’s side beat Turkey 3-1. Euro 2020 is the only major tournament North Macedonia has qualified for.

-AP

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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