Italy will miss out on a second successive World Cup after Aleksandar Trajkovski s stoppage-time strike gave North Macedonia a sensational 1-0 victory at Renzo Barbera.
Having also failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia, the European champions will not go for glory in Qatar this year after suffering their first World Cup qualifying defeat on home soil.
Roberto Mancini s side dominated the game, but they were made to pay for their lack of a cutting edge in a dramatic finale.
Trajkovski was North Macedonia s hero, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma from 25 years in the second minute of stoppage time set up a showdown with Portugal for a place in the World Cup.
1 Italy won t take part to the World Cup in two successive editions for the first time ever…
Paul Pogba s future at Manchester United remains unclear with his contract winding down.
The 28-year-old midfielder has so far opted against re-signing with the Red Devils.
Pogba had started the season brightly with United but was sent off in Sunday s 5-0 loss to Liverpool.
Manchester United prepared to let Paul Pogba leave on free transfer / report
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball)
TOP STORY – UNITED WILLING TO LET POGBA GO FREE
Manchester United will not sell Paul Pogba in January despite the France international becoming a free agent at the end of the season, reports The Telegraph.
United face missing out on recouping some of the £89million they spent on Pogba in 2016 when he joined from Juventus, who are one of the…
Ecuador cannot blame coach Hernan Dario Gomez for their current crisis, according to Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) president Francisco Egas.
Gomez s side head into their Copa America clash with Chile on the back of a humbling 4-0 defeat to Uruguay in their opening Group C match.
Ecuador are now without a win in their past five matches under Gomez, who took charge for his second spell in August 2018.
Two-time defending champions Chile, meanwhile, started their campaign in style, cruising to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Japan.
But FEF boss Egas has defended Gomez, insisting that pinning the blame on the coach would only be ignoring the wider issues that Ecuador currently face.
We are not understanding the reality of our football and that …
Daniele De Rossi scored on his Boca Juniors debut but the Argentine powerhouse suffered a shock penalty shoot-out defeat to Almagro.
De Rossi made a dream start to life at Boca after leaving boyhood club Roma, marking his bow with the 28th-minute opener on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old s bullet header at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata had three-time Copa champions Boca on track to advance to the round of 16.
However, when De Rossi was substituted with 13 minutes remaining, Boca lost control against the second-tier side.
Ya se juega el segundo tiempo en La Plata. 1 Almagro 0.
— Boca Jrs. Oficial (@BocaJrsOficial)
Juan Martinez equalised for Almagro within five minutes of former Italy international De Rossi s exit as the match went to extra tim…
Former Manchester United and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi insists he will not give up on the game despite suffering five serious knee injuries.
The 31-year-old managed one goal in 10 appearances for Genoa last season, and is currently a free agent following the expiry of his contract.
After four productive years in LaLiga with Villarreal between 2007 and 2011, Rossi was struck down by a torn anterior cruciate ligament and has been battling a succession of knee problems ever since.
Spells at Fiorentina, Levante and Celta Vigo preceded his time at Genoa but despite making no more than 19 league starts in any campaign since 2011-12, Rossi is giving no thought to stepping away from football.
I sacrificed too much to do that, he told BBC Sport.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has expressed surprise at Joe Hart being benched ahead of Manchester City s visit to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola selected Willy Caballero ahead of Hart for his first two matches in charge – last weekend s 2-1 win over Sunderland and Tuesday s 5-0 thrashing of Steaua Bucharest in the first leg of a Champions League play-off – amid reports the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss is unhappy with the England goalkeeper s capacity to build play from the back and operate as a sweeper-keeper .
During his time as Manchester City manager, Hughes signed Shay Given in January 2009 to similarly demote Hart and sent him on loan to Birmingham City the following season.
Nevertheless, the Welshman does not believe football…
Zenit took advantage of sloppy defending to beat Benfica 3-1 and move into a strong position in Champions League Group G, with four points from their opening two games.
Sergei Semak s side built on their 1-1 draw at Lyon in the opening round with a confident performance at Saint Petersburg Stadium, making it five wins in their last six home matches in Europe s top competition.
Benfica arrived with a Champions League away record of six defeats from their last seven trips and did themselves no favours when ponderous defending allowed Artem Dzyuba to steal in and score.
With their noses in front, the Russian champions shut up shop and patiently awaited a second opening, which arrived 20 minutes from time when Ruben Dias put through his own net.
Benfica s…
Tired of your mates recycling the same old football trivia questions from years gone by?
Bring them bang up-to-date and get them guessing with our Opta-powered Premier League quiz.
All the answers are at the bottom of the page, so you can claim the highground when it comes to statistical knowledge!
1. Having netted in all three of Manchester United s away games this season, Romelu Lukaku could become the fourth player to score in a team s first four matches on the road in a Premier League season. Who were the other three?
Next up:
West Ham
Saturday 29 September
London Stadium
12:30 BST
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
2. If Alexandre Lacazette scores against Watford, he will have found the net in five …
Lionel Messi is destined to return to Barcelona one day as the player and club deserve one last dance together , according to the Catalan giants sporting director Jordi Cruyff.
Paris Saint-Germain star Messi s 21-year association with Barca came to an end in August 2021 as the club could not afford a new deal under LaLiga s financial fair play rules.
Messi is now into his second season with PSG, but he is out of contract at the end of the campaign and has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.
The seven-time Ballon d Or winner turns 36 next year and Cruyff hopes to see him back at Camp Nou in the future, though accepts that it may not be in a playing capacity.
It s clear Barcelona and Messi have to be together again one day, Cru…
Jack Wilshere s performance in his first start for Arsenal since May 2016 left Arsene Wenger convinced that the midfielder is ready for a return to Premier League action.
The 25-year-old was influential throughout as Arsenal beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0 at the Emirates to reach the fourth round of the EFL Cup, building on his return to first-team action in the 3-1 victory over Cologne in the Europa League last week.
Wilshere spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Bournemouth and it seemed his Arsenal career, which began when he came through the club s youth ranks to make his first-team debut in 2008, was on the wane.
But Wenger gave him a full 90 minutes against Doncaster and was impressed with what he saw.
I wanted to keep him on. It was the ideal game, Wen…