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North Macedonia’s football players attend a training session in Skopje on March 26, 2022. – North Macedonia will face Portugal in their FIFA World Cup 2022 qualification playoff soccer match on March 29, 2022. (Photo by Robert ATANASOVSKI / AFP)
Cristiano Ronaldo could not hide his excitement at defender Pepe returning to the Portugal squad as the former European champions prepare to face North Macedonia in a crucial 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off.
Ronaldo is excited about the return of experienced defender Pepe to the Portugal squad after he missed Thursday's 3-1 win over Turkey due to COVID-19. "The king is back! Pepe is back in the house! Look out!" a smiling Ronaldo shouted before Portugal's training session on a warm and sunny Sunday morning in Porto as the 39-year-old defender emerged from the dressing room. They laughed and hugged before beginning the warm-up side by side, in the penultimate training session before the World Cup qualifying playoff against North Macedonia on Tuesday for a place in this year's tournament in Qatar.
Italy’s coach Roberto Mancini reacts at the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off football match between Italy and North Macedonia, on March 24, 2022 at the Renzo-Barbera stadium in Palermo. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has labelled Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup after losing to North Macedonia a ‘disaster’.
Roberto Mancini was reluctant to discuss his future as Italy manager after branding failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup the biggest disappointment of his career.
Italy were “destroyed and crushed” after missing out on the World Cup finals again after a 1-0 defeat at home by North Macedonia, the defender Giorgio Chiellini said.
Italy broke English hearts last July when they won the European Championship final but after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second straight tournament they have left fans thinking their Wembley triumph was a flash in the pan.