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Italy have gone from winning the European Championship to failing to qualify for the World Cup in just eight months.
In a rapid and stunning fall from grace, the Azzurri were upset by North Macedonia in a 1-0 loss on a night of drama in the European qualifying playoffs on Thursday. They will miss out on back-to-back World Cups for the first time in the team’s storied history, having also failed to get to the tournament in 2018.
North Macedonia’s winner came in the second minute of stoppage time from Aleksandar Trajkovski.
Amid utter dejection among the Italians, there was jubilation for North Macedonians, who are one victory away from qualifying for football’s greatest event for the first time.
Standing in their way in Tuesday’s playoff final will be Portugal, who beat Turkey 3-1 to keep alive Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of appearing in what is likely to be his final World Cup.
Ronaldo’s former teammate at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, could also be there after inspiring Wales to a 2-1 win over Austria to leave his country one victory away from a first World Cup appearance since 1958. Bale scored both of Wales’ goals, a sensational free kick into the top corner in the 25th and a shot on the turn in the 51st.
Wales will host either Scotland or Ukraine in a playoff final in June.
In the other four-team qualifying bracket, Sweden beat the Czech Republic 1-0 after extra time and will travel to play Poland on Tuesday for a spot in the tournament in Qatar. Robin Quaison scored the winner in the 110th minute in Stockholm.
That means Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was suspended for the game against the Czechs, could yet play in another global showpiece, at the age of 40.
Poland received a bye to the playoff final after their scheduled opponents, Russia, were thrown out of qualifying following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. That was also the reason why Ukraine’s match against Scotland was postponed.-AP
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