Frankfurt/Main (dpa) – The sensational World Cup end for Italy in the playoff qualifiers also surprised the German national football team – despite their own experiences with North Macedonia.
“Of course we knew how unpleasant they could be. They beat us here at home too,” said midfielder Ilkay Gündogan. “As a result, we knew that they were a pretty unpleasant and aggressive team to play against. But you couldn’t count on the result, so it was very surprising for us too.”
On Thursday evening, European champions Italy failed in the qualifying playoffs with a 0-1 draw against the blatant outsiders North Macedonia and, like in 2018, missed the World Cup. The German team lost 2-1 at home to North Macedonia in the World Cup qualifiers under national coach Joachim Löw just under a year ago.
“It shows that the level is getting higher and higher. Even from the teams that are supposedly underdogs,” said the 31-year-old Manchester City professional about North Macedonia’s victory over Italy, “that they are becoming more and more uncomfortable to play on and that it is always It’s also getting tougher in qualifiers and the tournaments themselves.”