Italy beats Macedonia 5-2 in the qualifying match for the European Championships and earns the chance to have two results out of three in the last match of group C, decisive for gaining a pass for Euro 2024. Scoring in the first half Darmian and Chiesa twice , the guests came closer in the second half with Ata's brace nasov , but in the final Raspadori and El Shaarawy close it out.
Spalletti has to deal with a long series of injuries and for the attack he chooses the light trident, this is the starting eleven: Donnarumma; Darmian, Gatti, Acerbi, Dimarco; Barella, Jorginho, Bonaventura; Berardi, Raspadori, Chiesa.
There are 55 thousand spectators at the Olympic stadium in Rome on the evening in which the Azzurri avenge the crushing defeat that cost us participation in the last World Cup. Game never in question: after a goal disallowed by Raspadori, Darmian heads the lead in the 17th minute . The Azzurri continue to create chances and in the 40th minute, after a handball in the area, Jorginho appears from the spot once again: weak, central shot, saved, third error in a row from 11 meters for the Azzurri, the last it cost us qualification for the World Cup. Not bad this time, because in the next action Chiesa doubles the lead, a great right-footed shot from the edge to the corner, we're in the 41st minute . In full injury time , Chiesa again scores a hat-trick that sends the teams to the locker rooms at 3-0, a deflected right-footed shot that mocks the Macedonian goalkeeper.
In the 7th minute of the second half Atanasov closed the gap for the guests with a header. The script of the match does not change, but Italy does not find the goal that closes the game and in the 74th minute Atanasov reopens it with a shot from outside deflected by Acerbi . Raspadori takes care of chasing away the fear, who scores the poker in the 81st minute assisted by Barella. In full injury time El Shaarawy fixed the score at 5-2 by pushing Dimarco's cross from the left into the net.
Appointment now on Monday, 8.45pm, when the Azzurri face Ukraine at the BayArena in Leverkusen: in the event of a victory or draw, Italy is qualified for the 2024 European Championships, in the event of a defeat they will have to go through the gauntlet of the play-offs that did us so much harm in the last two World Cups.
(Unioneonline/L)
