Verdict: Both teams to score

Best odds: 3/2

Bookmaker: BetUS

The match between Italy and North Macedonia, set to take place on Friday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, carries significant importance for the Azzurri as they aim to secure a top-two finish in Group C of the Euro 2024 qualifications.

North Macedonia have lost all hope of qualification for the main tournament next year, but they have the potential to make things challenging for Italy, as evidenced by their shocking victory in the World Cup play-offs.

Italy

Last month, Italy thrashed Malta by 4-0, and they got off to a good start against England at Wembley when Gianluca Scamacca took advantage of some inexplicably poor defending from the home side to fire the Azzurri ahead in the 15th minute, but a brace from Harry Kane and a goal from Marcus Rashford saw the Three Lions turn the contest around to complete a double over the team that beat them in the Euro 2020 final.

Italy only lost the two games against England in these qualifications, and the only other team to avoid defeat against them were – North Macedonia, having earned a 1-1 draw in Skopje back in September.

With England safely on their way to the Euros already, Italy are left competing with Ukraine for the remaining spot at the tournament, and the two sides will face each other in the final round on Monday. Ukraine have a three-point lead, but with a game in hand, Italy have a reasonable chance to change that before the end.

On the other hand, a failure to beat North Macedonia in this match would make it imperative for Luciano Spalletti’s team to win against Ukraine to avoid another dangerous playoff round.

Team News

The suspension of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who earned his third yellow card of the campaign against England. To make matters worse, Spalletti also has to deal with the injury absences of Rafael Toloi, Alex Meret, Manuel Locatelli, Davide Calabria, Destiny Udogie, Gianluca Mancini and Giorgio Scalvini. There is no Lazio hitman Ciro Immobile either.

In order to try and cope with some of these absences, Spalletti has called up uncapped Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso and Monza playmaker Andrea Colpani to bolster the squad.

The battle for Di Lorenzo’s position will involve Matteo Darmian and Manuel Lazzari, while the return of Jorginho could see him playing a crucial role in the midfield due to his experience and form in the number six position at Arsenal.

North Macedonia

North Macedonia will obviously seek to end their qualifying campaign on a positive note after being eliminated from contention.

Despite the elimination, Blagoja Milevski and his players have had some memorable moments in the current qualification phase, including holding Italy to a 1-1 draw earlier and securing victories against Malta. However, they faced a setback with a loss to Ukraine, making it impossible for them to finish in the top two positions in Group C.

This match marks the conclusion of North Macedonia’s Euro 2024 journey, and they face a tough test against Italy and later against England. Nonetheless, their recent friendly win against Armenia and their unbeaten streak in their last three meetings with Italy, including the notable victory in a World Cup playoff match, might provide them with some hope, or perhaps even confidence, as they make their way to Rome.

Team News

North Macedonia captain Stefan Ristovski has been left out of the squad following a spat with Milevski, and there are other issues as well, with the likes of Valon Ethemi and Ljupcho Doriev not on the list either.

Apart from those three, Milevski’s squad remains the same as it was in October. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the lineup which started the match against Ukraine, with Aleksandar Trajkovski and Darko Churlinov in contention to replace Eljif Elmas and Bojan Miovski upfront.

Conclusion

North Macedonia have always found ways to score against Italy, but the overall dominance of the Azzurri and the support from their home crowd at the Olimpico should play a crucial role. Italy will surely be motivated to secure a decisive victory, boosting their confidence ahead of the crucial match against Ukraine.

It seems a bit risky, but the visitors, who won’t have any reason to hold back, can’t be ruled out from scoring against the reigning European champions again.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best odds: 3/2

Bookmaker: BetUS