Italy drew 0-0 with Ukraine in their final match in Group C of their European qualifiers, thereby securing their spot at the Euro 2024 tournament. While the reigning Euro champions tied with Ukraine on 14 points each, they managed to clinch second place in the group due to a better head-to-head record. Italy defeated Ukraine 2-1 in the reverse fixture.

For Luciano Spalletti and his team, it was a difficult road to Euro 2024 qualification. England were the runaway winners of the group, defeating Italy 2-1 in their first clash and then thumping the Azzurri 3-1 in their second match.

While Ukraine came within touching distance of qualifying when Mykhailo Mudryk was brought down in the penalty area in stoppage time, the referee ultimately decided against awarding a penalty, meaning that the game would remain goalless. “Ukraine showed that they are an equipped team and they gave us a hard time,” Spalletti conceded.

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Spain bested Italy in a 2-1 victory at the De Grolsch Veste stadium in the Netherlands on Thursday night to book their spot in the final of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.

La Furia Roja got the better of the Italians within three minutes of play when Yeremy Pino took advantage of a defensive error to hand Spain the lead after three minutes of play. Spain’s lead did not last long, however, with Ciro Immobile scoring a penalty just eight minutes later after debutant Robin Le Normand was deemed to have handled the ball in the box.

Dominating the ball with 63% possession and 19 shots compared to eight, it seemed as if Spain had run out of ideas as extra time loomed. Then, in the 88th minute, Rodri fired a long-range shot that was deflected into the path of Joselu, who scored from just four yards out.

“The team played a great game,” Joselu remarked after the game. “We dominated almost the entire second half, just the goal was missing. I was alone after Rodri’s shot, it fell (to me) and I was confident I wasn’t offside. I’m happy for my goal because we’re now into a final with a chance to win a trophy.”

Coach Luis de la Fuente’s squad will take on Croatia in the final of the UEFA Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

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Italy failed to secure its place at the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar after suffering a shocking 0-1 loss to North Macedonia in the semifinals of European WC qualifiers. This will be the second consecutive time the Italy national soccer team didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

The matchup was mostly a one-sided affair in which Italy was attacking and pressuring from the get-go while N. Macedonia focused on defense. Still, the game remained scoreless through the regular 90 minutes and it appeared the two sides would need extra time and perhaps penalties to determine the winner. But everything changed in the 92nd minute.

North Macedonia’s goalie Stole Dimitrievski sent a long ball that found its way to Al-Fayha’s forward Aleksandar Trajkovski after some confusion among Italy’s back four. Trajkovski took a few steps and then launched a powerful shot that found its way past Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

In the end, Trajkovski’s goal proved to be enough to extend N. Macedonia’s dream of making their first World Cup and crush Italy’s hopes of returning to the big stage.

N. Macedonia’s job isn’t done yet as they face Portugal in the finals next week. The winner of this match will get one of the last spots in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Italy, which won European Championship last year, is heading back to the drawing board. This will be the first time that they won’t be part of the World Cup two times in a row and only the third time they didn’t qualify.

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The trophy reserved for the European Championship winner isn’t “coming home” after all. Instead, it was headed to Rome after Italy got a penalty shootout win over England in EURO 2020 finals.

England, who has never won a European Championship and has a lone World Cup trophy from 1966, entered the EURO 2020 finals as overwhelming favorites. The team managed by Gareth Southgate was considered to have a far more talented squad than Italy while also playing in front of the home crowd and conceding just one goal in the entire tournament.

Italy, on the other hand, was looking for redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Manager Roberto Mancini fielded a team comprised out of young stars and season veterans, hoping to bring his country its second European Championship trophy and sixth overall, counting the previous four World Cup wins.

England managed to open the scoring early on when Manchester United’s full-back Luke Shaw used a great cross from Kieran Trippier to put the ball behind Italy’s goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma. The goal came at 01:56, making it the fastest goal ever scored in the EURO finals.

It looked like England would dominate the game after this, but it wasn’t long before Italy found its footing. The Italians took over the possession and were the better squad late in the first half. This trend continued in the second half, and their persistence paid off when Leonardo Bonucci scored an equalizer after a scramble in the penalty box. The Juventus defender became the oldest player to score in the EURO finals with this goal.

Italy had several more chances to complete the comeback but failed to convert them. This took the game to extra time, where both teams looked like they would be content to determine the contest via penalty shootout.

England had the lead after the first two series, converting both penalties and seeing Italy split theirs. Leonardo Bonucci and Federico Bernardeschi then scored for Italy while Donnarumma saved the kick from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford missed his by hitting the right post.

Jorginho had the opportunity to seal the win as the last penalty taker for Italy but sent his kick into the post and left the door open for England. Still, Donnarumma managed to negate Jorginho’s mistake by saving Bukayo Saka’s penalty and kickstarting a huge celebration for Italy.

“The guys were extraordinary. I don’t have words for them; this is a magnificent group. There were no easy games, and this one became very difficult, but then we dominated,” said Italy manager Roberto Mancini after the match.

“You need a bit of luck with penalties, and I’m a little sorry for England. This team has grown so much, I think it can still improve. We are so happy for all.”

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Italy drew 0-0 with Ukraine in their final match in Group C of their European qualifiers, thereby securing their spot at the Euro 2024 tournament. While the reigning Euro champions tied with Ukraine on 14 points each, they managed to clinch second place in the group due to a better head-to-head record. Italy defeated Ukraine 2-1 in the reverse fixture.

For Luciano Spalletti and his team, it was a difficult road to Euro 2024 qualification. England were the runaway winners of the group, defeating Italy 2-1 in their first clash and then thumping the Azzurri 3-1 in their second match.

While Ukraine came within touching distance of qualifying when Mykhailo Mudryk was brought down in the penalty area in stoppage time, the referee ultimately decided against awarding a penalty, meaning that the game would remain goalless. “Ukraine showed that they are an equipped team and they gave us a hard time,” Spalletti conceded.

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Spain bested Italy in a 2-1 victory at the De Grolsch Veste stadium in the Netherlands on Thursday night to book their spot in the final of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.

La Furia Roja got the better of the Italians within three minutes of play when Yeremy Pino took advantage of a defensive error to hand Spain the lead after three minutes of play. Spain’s lead did not last long, however, with Ciro Immobile scoring a penalty just eight minutes later after debutant Robin Le Normand was deemed to have handled the ball in the box.

Dominating the ball with 63% possession and 19 shots compared to eight, it seemed as if Spain had run out of ideas as extra time loomed. Then, in the 88th minute, Rodri fired a long-range shot that was deflected into the path of Joselu, who scored from just four yards out.

“The team played a great game,” Joselu remarked after the game. “We dominated almost the entire second half, just the goal was missing. I was alone after Rodri’s shot, it fell (to me) and I was confident I wasn’t offside. I’m happy for my goal because we’re now into a final with a chance to win a trophy.”

Coach Luis de la Fuente’s squad will take on Croatia in the final of the UEFA Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

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Italy failed to secure its place at the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar after suffering a shocking 0-1 loss to North Macedonia in the semifinals of European WC qualifiers. This will be the second consecutive time the Italy national soccer team didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

The matchup was mostly a one-sided affair in which Italy was attacking and pressuring from the get-go while N. Macedonia focused on defense. Still, the game remained scoreless through the regular 90 minutes and it appeared the two sides would need extra time and perhaps penalties to determine the winner. But everything changed in the 92nd minute.

North Macedonia’s goalie Stole Dimitrievski sent a long ball that found its way to Al-Fayha’s forward Aleksandar Trajkovski after some confusion among Italy’s back four. Trajkovski took a few steps and then launched a powerful shot that found its way past Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

In the end, Trajkovski’s goal proved to be enough to extend N. Macedonia’s dream of making their first World Cup and crush Italy’s hopes of returning to the big stage.

N. Macedonia’s job isn’t done yet as they face Portugal in the finals next week. The winner of this match will get one of the last spots in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Italy, which won European Championship last year, is heading back to the drawing board. This will be the first time that they won’t be part of the World Cup two times in a row and only the third time they didn’t qualify.

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The trophy reserved for the European Championship winner isn’t “coming home” after all. Instead, it was headed to Rome after Italy got a penalty shootout win over England in EURO 2020 finals.

England, who has never won a European Championship and has a lone World Cup trophy from 1966, entered the EURO 2020 finals as overwhelming favorites. The team managed by Gareth Southgate was considered to have a far more talented squad than Italy while also playing in front of the home crowd and conceding just one goal in the entire tournament.

Italy, on the other hand, was looking for redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Manager Roberto Mancini fielded a team comprised out of young stars and season veterans, hoping to bring his country its second European Championship trophy and sixth overall, counting the previous four World Cup wins.

England managed to open the scoring early on when Manchester United’s full-back Luke Shaw used a great cross from Kieran Trippier to put the ball behind Italy’s goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma. The goal came at 01:56, making it the fastest goal ever scored in the EURO finals.

It looked like England would dominate the game after this, but it wasn’t long before Italy found its footing. The Italians took over the possession and were the better squad late in the first half. This trend continued in the second half, and their persistence paid off when Leonardo Bonucci scored an equalizer after a scramble in the penalty box. The Juventus defender became the oldest player to score in the EURO finals with this goal.

Italy had several more chances to complete the comeback but failed to convert them. This took the game to extra time, where both teams looked like they would be content to determine the contest via penalty shootout.

England had the lead after the first two series, converting both penalties and seeing Italy split theirs. Leonardo Bonucci and Federico Bernardeschi then scored for Italy while Donnarumma saved the kick from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford missed his by hitting the right post.

Jorginho had the opportunity to seal the win as the last penalty taker for Italy but sent his kick into the post and left the door open for England. Still, Donnarumma managed to negate Jorginho’s mistake by saving Bukayo Saka’s penalty and kickstarting a huge celebration for Italy.

“The guys were extraordinary. I don’t have words for them; this is a magnificent group. There were no easy games, and this one became very difficult, but then we dominated,” said Italy manager Roberto Mancini after the match.

“You need a bit of luck with penalties, and I’m a little sorry for England. This team has grown so much, I think it can still improve. We are so happy for all.”

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