North Macedonia vs Italy

Italy will travel to Skopje to encounter North Macedonia in a must-win Euro 2024 qualifying Group C fixture at the National Arena Toshe Proeski.

After qualifying for their first-ever Euro finals in 2020, North Macedonia’s bid to build on that success was off to a flying start as they squeezed past Malta 2-1 at home in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier. However, after squandering a 2-0 halftime lead in a heartbreaking 3-2 home loss to Ukraine on day two, things have gone south for Blagoja Milevski’s side, with England hammering them 7-0 last time out. Staring down the barrel of a three-game losing run in Euro qualifiers for the first time since 2015, the ‘Lynxes’ will take the field inspired by their decent all-time H2H record against Italy (W1, D1, L1). That lone victory saw North Macedonia beat the Italians 1-0 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs, condemning ‘Gli Azzurri’ to back-to-back failed attempts to reach the tournament.

Roberto Mancini, who was in the dugout in that match and previously led Italy to Euro 2020 glory, is no longer in charge, with former Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti taking his place last month. Mancini guided ‘Gli Azzurri’ to a 2-0 win at Malta following a 2-1 home loss to England in their curtain-raising Group C fixture, leaving Spalletti with plenty to do as the Italians trail runners-up Ukraine by three points at the start of this round. But with a game in hand, they are still hot favorites to leapfrog the Ukrainians and avoid missing out on Euro qualification for the first time in over three decades. After inspiring Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years last term, Spalletti will be keen to build on Italy’s 3-2 win over the Netherlands in June’s UEFA Nations League third-place playoff.