Seven years after Italy’s first and only match in Macedonia (3-2 comeback with a brace from Immobile and a goal from Belotti), the National Team has returned to Skopje. Tomorrow evening (20:45 CEST, live on Rai 1 - refereed by the Frenchman Letexier) Italy take on North Macedonia, resuming their campaign for qualification to the 2024 European Championships in Germany. After defeat in the first match against England, and victory in the second against Malta, the Azzurri will be looking for their second victory with the aim of overtaking Ukraine, currently in second place, who have played one more match than Italy and host leaders, England, tomorrow. 

Nine days after taking office and with only five direct training sessions under his belt, Luciano Spalletti will make his debut on the national team's bench tomorrow, aware of the importance of returning home with three points. It won’t be easy, there hasn’t been much time to give the team a new identity. Many have stumbled on their first outing as Azzurri head coach: three World Champions, like Pozzo, Bearzot and Lippi failed to win on their debut and in the last fifty years only five coaches (Vicini, Maldini, Zoff, Conte and Mancini) have celebrated their debut with a success. 

“Tomorrow will be quite emotional when I hear the anthem,” admitted the new Head Coach from the National Arena Todor Proeski press room. “We have to excite the Italian people. In addition to getting results, we have to establish this love with all those who love us. We have a strong team, we have everything needed to play good football. We will have to be able to read the match and also accept that we will have to defend.” 

Memories of the World Cup playoff in Palermo are still fresh when Trajkovski's late goal cost Italy their second consecutive qualification to the World Cup. It was a nightmare evening for the Azzurri, who failed to break through the Macedonian wall only to be mocked in the final minutes. A year and a half later, North Macedonia relegated to 68th place in the FIFA Ranking, dream of another trip: 'We have a very important history, which is both beautiful and has some wounds. It is up to us to mend these wounds. Tomorrow I want a team that tries to play football, we will have a game plan but also leave room for creativity and imagination. We have done our job, receiving total willingness from the boys. I was delighted with what I saw from them on the pitch this week, I'm confident they can develop their game and their quality.” 

The first two defections of the Spalletti management came this morning. Chiesa and Pellegrini did not board the plane that brought the Azzurri to the Macedonian capital, both struggling with muscle issues that forced them to the sidelines. “These things are regrettable. We didn’t force anything, at the first sign of discomfort we let them off. We could have also tried to help them recover for the second game, but we decided to let them go home because we have many other players as strong as them. And then,” Spalletti added with a smile, “this is the first time that I have a president who takes all the players I want, this had never happened to me so I thank him for it. I chose the players, no one indicated them to me and I expect an answer from those I choose.” On who could replace Chiesa in the front three, he didn’t give anything away: “Zaccagni fits the role more, Raspadori knows how to do it, he played there recently in Napoli. Then there are also others.” 

From the height of his 56 appearances for the Azzurri, Ciro Immobile will be the new captain of the National Team: “The feeling of being captain in the Azzurri shirt is incredible, it fills you with pride and satisfaction. It is a dream that has come true thanks to my teammates because it is also thanks to them that I was nominated for this. They saw what I can give, I am very happy. Everything I have done in my career is paying off. 

The only victory in the three previous meetings with North Macedonia dates back to October 2016 in Skopje when Italy came back in the final minutes thanks to a brace from Immobile. The Lazio striker, unfortunately, failed to repeat this feat in the World Cup play-off in Palermo: “It was the most painful and burning defeat of my career, even worse than the one against Sweden, because we were coming from a beautiful moment and great joys and emotions shared all together. We were too frantic, too eager to get the result right away and this did not work. I don’t see this as a revenge match, but as a way to restart.” 

The feeling was immediate with Spalletti: “He is very approachable, both as a person and as a coach, he is a coach who talks a lot with the players. He likes keeping a dialogue with everyone, which is important for us since we have less time here than at our clubs. He made a great impression on us right from the start.” 

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);

Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Nicolò Casale (Lazio), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Attackers: Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Aston Villa).