Ahead of a winner-takes-all clash with Ukraine in their final Euro 2024 qualifier, Italy seek to sneak into the top two of the Group C rankings during the visit of North Macedonia to Stadio Olimpico on Friday.
In contrast, the visitors have been eliminated from Finals contention, although they could still inflict another dose of despair on the Azzurri following their historic World Cup playoff triumph.
Criminally left alone inside the penalty area, Scamacca duly crashed home Giovanni Di Lorenzo's delivery into the roof of the net, but Luciano Spalletti's troops would soon be subjected to a Three Lions onslaught, as Harry Kane's brace and Marcus Rashford's strike turned the tie on its head.
Successive defeats to England brought a swift end to Italy's four-game unbeaten run in Group C, during which time Spalletti's troops amassed a respectable 10 points from 12 on offer to surge back into top-two contention, although the Three Lions are already riding off into the first-placed sunset.
Instead, Italy and Ukraine are engaged in a two-team shootout for the runners-up berth, with the Azzurri currently three points behind their fellow hopefuls with a game in hand, and victory on Friday would leave Spalletti's men needing just a draw from Monday's crunch clash with the Blue and Yellow to qualify directly.
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