No tickets remain for the playoff semi-final showdown between Italy and North Macedonia, which will take place at the Stadio Renzo Barbera on 24 March (20:45 CET kick-off).

With 6000 having been snapped up by VivoAzzurro cardholders between Wednesday and Thursday, Friday afternoon saw the remaining tickets sell out in just two hours (around 20,000). As stadium capacity is currently set at 75%, it means that around 26,000 fans will attend the clash.

There has been an incredibly enthusiastic response, then, with Sicilians eager to accompany the Azzurri when they play one of their most important matches in recent years. The team will be returning to Palermo two and a half years on from their last match there, in November 2019, when they beat Armenia 9-1 (debuts for Orsolini and Meret) in the Azzurri’s last match before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ITALY VS. NORTH MACEDONIA. Italy have faced North Macedonia on two occasions, both times in 2018 World Cup qualifying, with Italy winning 3-2 in Skopje and drawing 1-1 in Turin. The Azzurri are set to play their 16th match in Palermo: they’ve won 13, drawn once and lost once there up to now, scoring 35 and conceding eight. In total, Italy have played 117 World Cup qualifying matches: they have 78 wins, 30 draws, nine defeats and 234 goals to their name, with 71 in the goals against column. The Azzurri remain unbeaten at home: they’ve won 48 of the 59 games they’ve played in Italy, drawing the other eleven (147 goals scored, 27 conceded); on the road, they’ve played 58 fixtures, winning 30, drawing 19 and losing on nine occasions (87/44).

Seven world champions made their debuts in Palermo: Cannavero in ’97 against Northern Ireland, Gattuso in 2000 against Sweden, as well as De Rossi (who scored), Gilardino, Barone and Lippi (as Head Coach) in 2004 against Norway. The goal scored by Carew for the Norwegians after 41 seconds is the second fastest that Italy have ever conceded, behind Lacombe’s finish after 38 seconds in Italy 2-1 France at the 1978 World Cup. In 2015, Buffon celebrated his 150th Azzurri appearance in the Sicilian city. De Rossi, Immobile and Vieri have all got three goals to their name in Palermo, while Head Coach Roberto Mancini (against Malta in ’93), Chiellini, D. Baggio and Zaniolo have two.