o prizes for guessing
the identity of the most
humbled European
nation in World Cup
2022 qualification.
Just eight months
after claiming the European crown
at Wembley, Roberto Mancini’s Italy
somehow managed to turn wine into
water, sensationally falling victim to the
minnows of North Macedonia in a1-0Portugal dodge North
Macedonian banana skin
Cristiano Ronaldo and co. overcome Italy’s adversaries in European World Cup
qualifying, while Robert Lewandowski and Gareth Bale deliver for their countriesN
play-off semi-final defeat in Palermo.
Incredible to think that Italy, four
times global champions, have now
failed to qualify for the last two World
Cups; an unthinkable turn of events
for such a soccer superpower.
It will take some time for the Italians
to digest the chilling enormity of North
Macedonia’s1-0 hold-up in Sicily. For
all theAzzurri’s total domination on
the night – territorial, possession andshots – the hosts’ final ball and finishing
often were abject and two minutes into
stoppage-time, they succumbed to the
ultimate sucker punch, Macedonian
forward Aleksandar Trajkovski picking
up a loose ball and firing in low from
outside the box.
“LastJuly at the European
Championship, I had the biggest thrill
of my career,” declared a visibly stunned
Mancini. “Now I’m facing the biggestR
e
v
ie
w
Europe
NICK BIDWELL