A capacity conflict in Porto among the Euro 2016 winners, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, and an Italy team who succeeded them as continental champions remaining yr is a mouth-watering prospect.
However, both ought to first come thru semi-finals on Thursday that are a ways from foregone conclusions, with Portugal hosting Turkey and Italy facing North Macedonia.
Failure to attain this 12 months's World Cup might be a catastrophe for the Azzurri, who had long past to each finals due to the fact 1958 till missing out in 2018 after they lost a play-off to Sweden.
It could be all the extra incredible given that they bounced again from that beneath Roberto Mancini to win Euro 2020 at the same time as on a world report 37-sport unbeaten run.
Yet four draws of their ultimate 5 World Cup qualifiers last autumn noticed them end 2nd of their organization to Switzerland, and now they must come via those one-off ties to secure an area inside the April 1 attract Doha.
"Our purpose is to win the World Cup, and to win the World Cup we have to win these suits. There's nothing else to say," Mancini stated on Monday.
- North Macedonia plot shock -
Italy host North Macedonia in Palermo, and they may recognise not to take the Balkan state of million human beings lightly.
After all, they beat Germany away in qualifying final 12 months earlier than performing at their first foremost match at Euro 2020, and additionally they held Italy to a damaging draw in Turin in qualifying for the last World Cup.
"We are not going to Italy as travelers, however to outplay (them) and to win," stated train Bobi Milevski, who is aiming to take North Macedonia- born in 1991 out of the damage-up of Yugoslavia - to their first World Cup.
