Italy will be looking to gain momentum against North Macedonia this week in Euro 2024 qualifying. On the other hand, while being disqualified from the Finals, the visitors may still cause the Azzurri further misery after their historic World Cup playoff victory.
Preview (Italy vs. North Macedonia)
Gianluca Scamacca, the former striker for West Ham United, rarely scored goals in London during his disastrous time there. However, in last month’s rematch of the Euro 2020 final, the Atalanta BC forward took advantage of some careless England defense after just 15 minutes. Scamacca, who was unfairly left alone in the penalty area, duly hammered home Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s delivery into the net’s roof, but the Three Lions would soon overwhelm Luciano Spalletti’s team with goals from Harry Kane’s brace and Marcus Rashford’s strike to turn the game around.
Italy’s four-game unbeaten streak in Group C came to an abrupt end after consecutive losses to England. During that stretch, Spalletti’s team managed to secure a decent 10 points out of 12 available. The Three Lions are already coasting into the sunset in first place. Instead, Italy and Ukraine are playing each other in a two-team shootout for the runners-up spot. With a game remaining, the Azzurri are currently three points behind their fellow contenders. If they win on Friday, Spalletti’s team would only need a draw from their crucial match against the Blue and Yellow on Monday to qualify straight through.
To finish in the top two, North Macedonia would need Italy to defeat Ukraine on the final matchday. If not, Spalletti’s team would have to endure another playoff campaign to secure their tickets to Germany. Fortunately for the defending European champions, North Macedonia’s devastating World Cup playoff loss from the previous year won’t happen again, but the Lynxes might still further hurt Italy’s hopes of qualifying as they try to finish strong. After a memorable but brief performance at Euro 2020, North Macedonia’s attempt to advance to back-to-back Finals has failed. However, their 3-1 friendly victory over Armenia on October 17 was widely praised.
Team News
The right-back for Italy and Napoli had his third booking of Group C with 30 minutes remaining. As a result, he will miss Friday’s match due to suspension. Since announcing his team, Spalletti has also lost Rafael Toloi, Alex Meret, Manuel Locatelli, and David Calabria to injury. The absence of Destiny Udogie, Gianluca Mancini, and Giorgio Scalvini, three more defenders participating in the matches in October, forces Spalletti to call up uncapped Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso. Monza playmaker Andrea Colpani may also make his maiden Azzurri debut this month.
Due to his increased playing time as Arsenal’s number six, Matteo Darmian and Manuel Lazzari will compete to replace the suspended Di Lorenzo, while the returning Jorge could be used at the base of the midfield. However, star striker Immobile is once again absent. Other than that, the visiting coach has stuck with the same group of foreign players from October’s games. This time around, neither Valon Ethemi nor Ljupcho Doriev, who were both there last month, have been called up.
Italy 2 – 0 North Macedonia
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