Italy vs North Macedonia: Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups, Dream11 Predictions

Italy vs North Macedonia is the next semi final playoff match in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where the reigning champions of Europe look to surpass North Macedonia and march onto the playoff final.

Italy vs North Macedonia: Match Preview:

UEFA Euro 2020 champions Italy are among the nations vying for a spot after finishing second in their group behind Switzerland. The underwhelming qualifying campaign has now forced Roberto Mancini's men to battle it out for their participation in the coveted competition.

Italy start their playoff campaign on Thursday with a game against North Macedonia at Renzo Barbera Stadium in Palermo. Despite the home advantage, it is a tricky game for the Gli Azzurri, who had dropped points against the likes of Northern Ireland and Bulgaria during their group qualifying stage.

North Macedonia are a daunting opponent, who had finished second behind Germany in Group J. They had finished ahead of established nations such as Romania and Iceland and had even beaten Germany once.

The winner of this tie will qualify for the playoff final against either Portugal or Turkey, who play each other on the same day at the iconic Estadio do Dragao.

Team news:

Italy:

Italy have named a strong squad. Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the experienced Juventus centre-back duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli and Lazio striker Ciro Immobile have all been included.

There could be potential debuts for Lazio centre-back Luiz Felipe, Cagliari attacker Joao Pedro and Lazio forward Mattia Zaccagni. Sassuolo's young attackers Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca seem destined for great things, and it is evident that Roberto Mancini rates the young duo highly.

North Macedonia:

Meanwhile, North Macedonia have included Napoli midfielder Elif Elmas, Al-Ahli left-back Ezgjan Alioski and Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. There could be potential debuts for Zalaegerszegi TE centre-back Nikola Serafimov, Istanbulspor midfielder Valon Ethemi, Debrecen striker Dorian Babunski and Westerlo forward Erdon Daci.

Italy vs North Macedonia: Head to Head:

In two head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Italy have drawn one game and won one.

The two countries last faced each other in 2017, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. A first-half goal from Juventus centre-back Giorgio Chiellini for Italy was canceled out by a second-half goal from attacker Aleksandar Trajkovski for North Macedonia.

Recent form in all competitions:

Italy:

5-0 win over Lithuania

2-1 loss against Spain

2-1 win over Belgium

1-1 draw against Switzerland

0-0 draw against Northern Ireland

North Macedonia:

0-0 draw against Romania

4-0 win over Liechtenstein

4-0 oss against Germany

5-0 win over Armenia

3-1 win over Iceland

Italy vs North Macedonia: Predicted Line-ups:

Italy Predicted XI (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessandro Florenzi, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Emerson Palmieri, Manuel Locatelli, Nicolo Barella, Marco Verratti, Domenico Berardi, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne

North Macedonia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Stole Dimitrievski, Stefan Ristovski, Darko Velkovski, Kire Ristevski, Ezgjan Alioski, Stefan Spirovski, Elif Elmas, Tihomir Kostadinov, Darko Churlinov, Milan Ristovski, Aleksandar Trajkovski

ITA vs MCD: Dream11 Predictions: