European champions Italy will not be competing at the 2022 World Cup after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at home to North Macedonia in their playoff semi-final on Thursday night.
A 92nd-minute strike from Aleksandar Trajkovski broke the deadlock for the visitors in Palermo, sending the four-time world champions and current Euro 2020 holders packing.
The Azzurri, who did not compete at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, will not take part in Qatar later this year either, and have now failed to qualify for successive finals for the first time in their history.
It was Al-Fayha striker Trajkovski – North Macedonia’s most-capped player among their current squad with 75 appearances, who produced a moment of magic in stoppage time, as the Italian squad were left in disbelief.
The Azzurri dominated the 90 minutes with a total of 32 shots on goal, but failing to take their chances proved costly and sees them crashing out in the World Cup qualifiers against a nation positioned 61 places below them in the world rankings.
North Macedonia will now prepare for a playoff final encounter away against Portugal on March 29, with the winners qualifying for this year’s showpiece tournament in Qatar.
