We have reached the business end of 2024 European Championship qualifying and on the 17th of November we have a meeting between Italy and North Macedonia.
The match will be played at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome and the hosts are currently third in the group on 10 points while the visitors are in fourth place on 7 points.
Italy come into the match on the back of a 3-1 away defeat to England in 2024 European Championship qualifying.
It was the Italians who opened the scoring in the 15th minute but they did not hold onto the lead for long and England equalised 17 minutes later from the penalty spot.
Into the second half and England took the lead in the 57th minute and added a third goal in the 77th minute to seal the win.
The defeat in England was the first for Italy in 5 matches.
They previously beat Ukraine 2-1 and Malta 4-0 at home in 2024 European Championship qualifying plus defeated Netherlands 3-1 in the Nations League third place decider.
In addition, Italy were held to a 1-1 draw at North Macedonia in 2024 European Championship qualifying.
Trends show Italy have managed to score 1 or more goals in their last 33 matches in European qualifiers.
They have won 10 of their last 11 home European qualifying games and have seen over 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 7 on home soil.
North Macedonia make the trip to Rome having beat Armenia 3-1 at home in a friendly in their most recent fixture.
North Macedonia were leading 3-0 going into the final minutes and the Armenia goal was nothing more than a consolation.
The win over Armenia means North Macedonia have won 2 of their last 3 matches in all competitions having also beat Malta 2-0 away in 2024 European Championship qualifying.
However, they are the only 2 wins in the 6 most recent fixtures for North Macedonia.
Trends show North Macedonia have recorded just a single win from their 5 most recent European Championship qualifiers.
They have lost 4 of their last 6 European Championship qualifying matches on the road.
Team news: Italy have a somewhat inexperienced squad, with only captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma having over 50 caps. Inter Milan are heavily represented in the squad, with six players in total.
North Macedonia have one player currently operating in Serie A and Elif Elmas of Napoli will start in midfield.
The experienced Aleksandar Trajkovski is likely start up-front with Ezgjan Alioski and Visar Musliu forming part of the defence.
This is a must-win game for Italy and they start as favourites to succeed. However, they will know not to underestimate North Macedonia, who shocked Italy at home in a 2022 World Cup playoff.
We expect Italy to get the job done this time, with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals in total.
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