Reigning European champions Italy would look to avenge their World Cup qualifications heartbreak as they face North Macedonia in the latest round of the European qualifiers.
North Macedonia kicked-off the year with scintillating victories over Malta and Faroe Islands as the European side continued their emergence as a footballing nation. Despite their winning streak, a remarkable comeback from Ukraine in a fiesty 3-2 affair handed Blagoja Milveski's side their first defeat of the new year.
North Macedonia then locked horns with England in Manchester and a hattrick from Bukayo Saka made the headlines as Gareth Southgate's men thrashed their rivals 7-0. Facing a familiar opponent, North Macedonia would be hoping to produce another upset against Italy who saw their World Cup dreams broken by the home side last year.
A change in the managerial hierarchy at the Italian Football Federation could be a turning point in the nation's history as Napoli's Scudetto winning manager Luciano Spalletti looks to guide the European giants to new heights after Roberto Mancini.
The latter's failures in the closing stages of his tenure saw Spalletti take charge of the Azzurri and he'll be hoping to change the scenario with his appointment. Italy are currently third in Group C behind England ( 12 points) and Ukraine ( 6 points), but having played a game less still have their qualification fates in the palm of their hands.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
N. Macedonia vs Italy kick-off time
| Date: | September 9, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 7:45 pm BST |
| Venue: | Toše Proeski Arena |
North Macedonia will host Italy at the Toše Proeski Arena with kick-off at 7:45 pm BST in the United Kingdom (UK)
How to watch N. Macedonia vs Italy online - TV channels & live streams
The match will be available to stream on Viaplay Sports 1.
Team news & squads
N. Macedonia team news
The hosts have a ton of injury problems to deal with before their clash against Italy as Darko Churlinov, Valon Ethemi and Marjan Radeski are all tipped to sit out due to their respective injuries.
North Macedonia's captain Stefan Ristovski had a fierce clash of heads against Harry Kane in their 7-0 routing and despite the defender recovering from the knock he's touted to sit out after publicly admitting that him and head coach Milevski are not on the same page and have problems.
Visar Musliu missed the aforementioned clash due to an injury but the defender is scheduled to return when his country play host to the reigning European champions.
North Macedonia Predicted XI: Dimitrievski; Ashkovski, Velkovski, Musliu, Zajkov, Alioski; Ademi, Bardhi; Elmas; Trajkovski, Nestorovski
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Dimitrievski, Aleksovski, Illiev, Naumovski, Shiskovski |
| Defenders: | Iljazovski, Brdarovski, Bejtulai, Ristevski, Zajkov, Musliu, Alioski, Serafimov, Velkovski, Manev |
| Midfielders: | Ashkovski, Ademi, Elmas, Bardhi, Atanasov, Babunski, Elezi, Miovski, Dimoski, |
| Forwards: | Trajkovski, Doriev, Babunski, Ristovski, Nestorovski |
Italy team news
Luciano Spalletti's side will miss the services of certain veterans with defender Leonardo Bonucci and midfielders Jorginho and Marco Verratti nowhere to be seen.
The former Napoli manager could stick with a 4-3-3 formation that has proved of much success for the European heavyweights. Gianluigi Donnarumma would be the undisputed shot stopper while Inter's Alessandro Bastoni would be sitting in the heart of Italy's defense.
With Lorenzo Pellegrini being sent home because of an injury the trio of Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella, and Manuel Locatelli could start in Italy's engine room.
Lazio's record goal-scorer Ciro Immobile could lead the line for Italy with Politano and Zaccagni supporting their captain.
Italy's Predicted XI : Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Romagnoli, Bastoni, Dimarco; Barella, Tonali, Locatelli; Politano, Immobile, Zaccagni
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Donnarumma, Meret, Provedel, Vicario |
| Defenders: | Bastoni, Biraghi, Casale, Darmian, Di Lorenzo, Dimarco, Mancini, Romagnoli, Sclavini, Spinazzola |
| Midfielders: | Barella, Cristante, Fratessi, Locatelli, Pessina, Tonali, |
| Forwards: | Chiesa, Gnonto, Immobile, Politano, Raspadori, Retegui, Zaniolo, Zaccagni |
Head-to-Head Record
The two sides have faced each other thrice with both teams winning a game a piece while the encounter in 2017 ended in a draw.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 25 March 2022 | Italy 0-1 North Macedonia | UEFA World Cup Qualifiers |
| 7 October 2017 | Italy 1-1 North Macedonia | UEFA World Cup Qualifiers |
| 10 October 2016 | North Macedonia 2-3 Italy | UEFA World Cup Qualifiers |