Euro 2024: The taboo broken, Italy-North Macedonia 5-2. Azzurri one step away from Euro ’24 – Football

Italy returns to the heights of its history by chasing away the Macedonian ghosts. The 5-2 at the Olimpico brings Luciano Spalletti’s national team one step away – or rather one point – from direct qualification for Euro 2024, but contains within it everything and its opposite: Chiesa’s brace, yet another missed penalty from Jorginho, the thrill of Macedonia who down three goals at the end of the first half scored two in the second half and reopened everything, the final goleada with the attackers as protagonists. Signs to consider, in view of Monday’s decisive match, in Leverkusen, against Ukraine.

Just as coach Luciano Spalletti had asked and hoped, the Azzurri, albeit with a few too many thrills, swept away North Macedonia who had excluded them from the 2022 World Cup; first with Darmian’s header and then with a crazy Federico Chiesa. The Juventus striker made the Olimpico worry at the start due to a bad foul suffered on the knee and then unleashed the joy of the fans with a brace of applause that seemed to have closed the match already in the first half.

In the second half the national team slowed down and the guests scored with Atanasov and after many wasted Italian opportunities there was also the unfortunate 3-2 with Donnarumma betrayed by Acerbi’s deflection in front of goal. In the final, Raspadori finally broke the Macedonian taboo with the beautiful goal to make it 4-2. Roman player El Shaarawy who entered the final closed it definitively.

Now the national team can fly to Leverkusen with a bit more optimism for the decisive match in the 2024 European Championship qualifiers against Ukraine next Monday, where it will only need not to lose for direct access to the European Championships, without having to go through the playoffs. At the start, no surprises for Italy with Gatti preferred to Buongiorno in place of the injured Bastoni in defense and Darmian replacing the suspended Di Lorenzo on the right. Jorginho returns to the starting eleven for the first time since June, while Berardi, Raspadori and Chiesa leave in attack. There was an immediate shiver for the Azzurri at the start, not due to a scoring move but due to a bad foul on Chiesa hit hard on the right knee by Dimoski. The Juventus striker remains on the ground causing people to fear the worst but then slowly recovers and the fear of a new injury passes. Italy starts slowly, while Macedonia comes alive with Elmas near Donnarumma. The Italian team had a study phase that lasted only a few minutes with Barella and Jorginho starting to control the game and the first attacks arrived with Chiesa completely recovered. Raspadori slipped away, served perfectly by Jorginho, scoring on the counterattack but the Napoli striker’s goal was disallowed for offside.

The Azzurri continue to push and the 1-0 comes shortly after: the action starts from the corner on the left, Raspadori crosses to the far post where Darmian is found free and ready for the deflection, who heads it into the net. Once in the lead, Italy increasingly takes the lead with Jorginho and Barella masters of the midfield to orchestrate the attacking phase. The 2-0 is in the air: on a corner from the left, a flick of the hand in the area by Serafimov and it’s a penalty kick for the Azzurri. Jorginho goes to the spot without fear of past mistakes, but the curse for the Arsenal midfielder continues with his too slow shot which crashes into the gloves of Macedonian goalkeeper Dimitrievski. Fourth failed penalty in a row for Jorginho in blue, after the two against Switzerland and the one in the London final of the European Championships he won. A cold shower that was immediately forgotten thanks to Chiesa who made it 2-0: Barella’s backheel towards Chiesa who unleashed a great shot from the edge of the area which went into the corner. The Olimipico rejoices, but it’s not over, just before the end of the first half comes the third goal again scored by the Juventus attacker: Berardi on the counterattack serves Chiesa on the left, who points to Manev on the run and unleashes a shot which, with the deflection from the Macedonian defender, takes an uncatchable spin and goes into the net. At the start of the second half, Spalletti’s team slowed down, leaving room for the Macedonians who closed the gap with Atanasov who, all alone, headed in between Acerbi and Gatti to bring his team to 3-1. Italy’s reaction was not long in coming with Darmian and Bonaventura one step away from 4-1.

The time comes for the substitutions: Bonaventura, Chiesa and Jorginho come out making room for Frattesi, Cristante and Zaniolo who returns to the field after the betting scandal and is soundly booed by the Olimpico still poisoned by the bad farewell to Roma. Italy squandered some opportunities to make it 4-1 and Macedonia reopened the match again with Atanasov scoring a brace thanks to a deflection from Acerbi which surprised Donnarumma. The Olimpico began to fear the sensational mockery for about ten minutes before Raspadori’s ghost-busting goal at the end: caught on a cut by Barella, the Neapolitan attacker from the right stabs Dimitrievski for the fourth Italian goal. 5-2 final scored by El Shaarawy in full recovery: caught by Dimarco with an assist the Roma player puts it into the net all alone in the center of the area. Italy’s football team breathes a sigh of relief that turns into pure joy as it awaits the final verdict on Monday.

Jorginho curse Olimpico, misses another penalty

The jump before taking the penalty, at the beginning, was his trademark for infallibility. For a year now, however, it has become a real nightmare. “I’ll shoot it”, Jorginho had said on the eve of the match to forget the double error from the spot against Switzerland, in the first leg and the second leg, which had cost them the direct qualification for the 2022 World Cup. “I’ll shoot it”, he laughed on the pitch , when another penalty was awarded for the Azzurri at 1-0 against Macedonia, again at the Olimpico. And the line from Paolo Rossi’s monologue about the three penalties missed in a match by Evaristo Beccalossi came to mind for more than one spectator.

And history, in its own way, in a different way, repeats itself: Jorginho, like a year ago, misses a penalty kick at the Olympic stadium in Rome and if on 12 November 2022 it cost Italy the playoff for the World Cup, which they then lost against North Macedonia, this evening after his mistake against the Macedonians what saved him from the hell of a breathless match was Chiesa’s immediate follow-up goal, for the 2-0, and then the attacker’s second goal in time closure. Yesterday, however, coach Luciano Spalletti was clear in the press conference. “If there were to be a penalty I expect Jorginho to take it due to the quality and personality he has.” No sooner said than done. Because in the 40th minute the Arsenal midfielder has the chance to make up for the previous year’s mistake even if under a different curve (the North). But like Sommer, Dimitrievski also hypnotizes the Italian player who allows what would have been a possible 2-0 to be saved, only postponed for a few minutes. In the history of the Azzurri, more than the sensational precedent against Beccalossi’s Inter, there is the double mistake in a match by ‘Spillo’ Altobelli, an Italy-Malda match in ’86. As for Jorginho, he would certainly have wanted to celebrate his return to the squad in a different way after having been left out of Spalletti’s first calls and above all after having been a cornerstone of Mancini’s management. He who was one of the heroes of the triumph at Euro 2020, but whose appearance count for the national team was stuck at 48, with his last appearance on 15 June in the Nations League semi-final against Spain, which they lost 2-1. For this reason, the return leg, after winning over the Arsenal fans, imagined it would be different, regardless of the result. The curse of the disk remains. Since the mistake at Wembley in the Euro2020 final, all four penalties taken against Italy have ended with the same result.

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2023-11-17 22:10:39
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