Football
Italy’s World Cup Hopes Crushed After Shocking Loss to North Macedonia
by privatebet.com - 2022/03/25
Italy came into their latest World Cup match as a clear favorite, and they were expected to score a routine victory over North Macedonia, but things didn’t exactly go as planned. European champions were eliminated from their second World Cup in a row after a shocking loss on Thursday night. North Macedonians knew they were facing a tough opponent and came into the game with a strong defensive plan. They stood their ground to Italy every step of the way, but the real shocker came when Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a winning goal 92 minutes into the game, pulling an upset that no one saw coming. Italy’s loss is especially shocking because it comes on the heels of their UEFA Euro 2020 triumph over England last summer. They have a great track record at the FIFA World Cup with a total of four titles, but they haven’t won the competition since 2006 and this marks the second consecutive time they failed to qualify. Italy's manager Roberto Mancini addressed their shocking loss after the match and described it as his biggest disappointment. "I'm really sorry for the players. It's a team that has played very well and who won the Euros last summer by deserving it. I'm really sorry that they can't go to the World Cup for the second time,” said Mancini.