Twitter erupts as Italy fail to qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup
In what will go down as one of international football's most memorable moments, North Macedonia have knocked European Champions Italy out of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup .
North Macedonia will play Portugal in the final of their UEFA Playoffs for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after beating an Italy side that had won the European Championship last summer.
Yet they fell to a North Macedonia who went into the tie as huge underdogs, seemingly just proud to have made it as far as they had.
Aleksandar Trajkovski's fine finish deep into added time shocked the world and the reactions of fans, legends and journalists on Twitter can be seen below:
ITS COMING ROME https://t.co/z1quFnGFPX
#ItalyAfter missing on Russia 2018, Italy are out of the World Cup 2022. What an incredible disaster. 🇮🇹 #Italy
See you in Qatar, Leonardo... oh wait sorry 🤐🤐 https://t.co/c0J5tY17NL
A second successive World Cup without Italy https://t.co/c8rQX6bJRK
https://t.co/9VIctvk5Dm
For Italy to go from being European Champions to not even making the final playoff stage is an almighty and devastating fall.
Two straight World Cups without Italy.
Madness.
1-0 North Macedonia.
A 92ND MINUTE GOAL! ITALY ARE NOT GOING TO THE WORLD CUP! INSANE MOMENT IN FOOTBALL! https://t.co/pgbkSttPzC
Italy can HOLD DAT
NORTH MACEDONIA KNOCKS ITALY OUT OF THE WORLD CUP PLAYOFFS https://t.co/zqB3OVeEus
All of Italy right now. https://t.co/xzsrk5ZBPk
Last Italy’s World Cup game was June 15, 2014. Group stage vs England. 2839 days ago.
Last Italy’s World Cup knockout game was July 9, 2006. Final vs France (!). 5737 days ago.
Next one: 2026? 🇮🇹 #Italy
Rickie Lambert played in the last World Cup that Italy qualified for
Fail to qualify for 2018 World Cup
❌ Fail to qualify for 2018 World Cup
❌ Fail to qualify for 2022 World Cup
“It’s de history of de Italy…” https://t.co/qYn5XQgU4e
North Macedonia have knocked out Italy. UNREAL 🤣🤣👏👏
#ItaliaMacedonia
https://t.co/SohvFHnqiA
Italy...............
Just a friendly reminder that Messi fans wanted to see Italy knocking out Portugal in the play - off finals so they can troll Cristiano Ronaldo just for Italy to get knocked out by Marcedonia 😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/VHhNCYYkjp
Italy fans realising they have missed two World Cups in a row… https://t.co/bhuQK8CDZm
So Italy beat England to become European Champions only for North Macedonia to end their World Cup hopes.
Football heritage!
https://t.co/r5ANXRiGAR
I don’t think people understand how big of an impact Chiesa had on this team. Italy owe their EURO 2020 win to Federico Chiesa. https://t.co/ejkNxv1KKQ
The next time Italy plays in a World Cup it could be after 12 years of wait..
#Italy https://t.co/GtgqzV9V9X
Italy, what’s going on hiaa?? 🌚
Italy after winning the world cup in 2006..
2010: Groupstage
2014: Groupstage
2018: Did not qualify
2022: Did not qualify
The fall is massive https://t.co/uhyevaRbgr
Italy with 0 Italy with
Milan players 1 Milan player https://t.co/vnjmfrK2VD
Italy almost entering the World Cup https://t.co/QjWclIDfct
Ronaldo after he checks the scores of the Italy game https://t.co/HyWJiqOIaH
I for one applaud Italy’s stance to boycott the World Cup in Qatar https://t.co/ywNauITUNV
No Italy at the World Cup. European champions are out. This is why I consistently say, UEFA is hard. Every time at least one massive country fails. Little margin for error, unlike in many other Confederations.
Glad Italy are out. Germany always struggle against them. No one can stop us anymore 🇩🇪 https://t.co/chF2Lj4u86
we will never forget that this man is the reason Italy are not going to the world cup https://t.co/EsMtwCoFt4
What has happened to Italy as they fail to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022?
The demoralizing defeat on Thursday night means Italy will miss out on a place at the FIFA World Cup for a second time in a row.
Despite their impressive rise that coincided with winning UEFA Euro 2020, Roberto Mancini's side have been a shadow of their trophy-winning team.
They mustered 32 shots in the defeat, only managing to hit the target on five occasions. The Italians looked stressed as they couldn't find the vital goal.
They completely dominated the affair from the get-go but their lack of firepower led to a moment that will go down in international football history.
For all of Italy's good play, they seemingly fold once they've made it to the final third.
Despite not losing a game in their qualification group, they have lacked that killer instinct to put sides to bed and that flaw has come back to haunt them in the most extreme of circumstances.
Huge questions will be asked of Roberto Mancini on how he has managed to guide a team to the European Championships and then fail to qualify for the FIFA World Cup just eight months on.
Nevertheless, it is North Macedonia who will meet Portugal for a spot in Qatar.
The Portuguese side romped to victory over Turkey in an entertaining affair with goals from Otávio Edmilson da Silva Monteiro and Diogo Jota before the break seemingly putting them in full control.
But Burak Yilmaz's strike in the 65th minute made things interesting and he could have further thrown Portugal's lead into tatters when Turkey won a penalty in the 85th minute.
Yilmaz, however, would blaze over before Matheus Nunes wrapped things up for Portugal, who will now face North Macedonia.
The story was there to be written for Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal to take on Italy with a heavyweight not making it to the FIFA World Cup.
But that story needn’t occur as the Italians crash out in a demoralizing fashion.