Macedonia del Norte

North Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe. While the provided articles don't focus directly on North Macedonia, they are newsworthy because their national football team played a crucial role in Italy's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The articles highlight Italy's struggles and ultimate elimination in the World Cup qualifying playoffs. Although North Macedonia is not explicitly mentioned by name in the snippets, the context implies that they were a contributing factor to Italy's absence from the tournament. This outcome is significant because Italy, a four-time World Cup champion, has now missed the tournament for the third consecutive time, a fact underscored by the articles. The articles focus on the aftermath of Italy's defeat and the resulting disappointment, indirectly highlighting North Macedonia's success in preventing Italy's qualification.