Italy 0-1 North Macedonia: Jorginho's penalty misses v Switzerland proved costly

Italy were involved in one of the biggest World Cup upsets in history on Thursday evening.

The European champions were expected to brush aside North Macedonia in their play-off semi-final encounter, but were instead on the receiving end of a shock 1-0 defeat in Palmero.

Aleksandar Trajkovski – who ironically used to play for Palermo – scored the all-important goal in the 92nd-minute of play and it was a worldie from the winger, who plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Fayha.

His strike means Italy have failed to qualify for two World Cups in a row, the first time that has happened in their footballing history.

The Azzurri’s unexpected elimination at the hands of North Macedonia will also thrust Chelsea midfielder Jorginho back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

And no, that’s not due to his performance in the match itself – which was pretty solid over all.

It’s because of the fact that Jorginho missed a penalty in both of Italy’s draws against Switzerland in the group stage.

Had the former Napoli man found the back of the net either home or away, Roberto Mancini’s side would have taken top spot.

If Jorginho had scored this penalty against Switzerland, Italy would have qualified for the 2022 World Cup! #Jorginho #WCQ pic.twitter.com/Qu5H6yPO7s

The second of the two misses was the worst, as it came in stoppage-time. In front of a packed Stadio Olimpico, Jorginho ditched his trademark stuttered run up and opted to go for power, only to see the ball fly over the crossbar.

That miss prevented Italy from qualifying for the World Cup automatically on the night and the team were then held to a 0-0 draw by Northern Ireland in their final match, which sealed their play-off fate.

After the defeat to North Macedonia, Jorginho