Italy concede fastest goal in their history after 14 seconds

Italy's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar were dented on Thursday night after they conceded the fastest goal in their history against North Macedonia.

Aleksandar Trajkovski fired home a stunning strike after just 14 seconds to give the visitors a shock lead in Palermo.

It was the quickest goal Italy have ever conceded in a competitive match, and it came as a major blow to their hopes of reaching the World Cup for the second successive time.

Italy were unable to recover from the early setback and eventually lost the match 1-0.

The defeat means that Italy will now have to play in the play-offs if they want to qualify for the World Cup.

They will be seeded in the play-offs, but they will still face a tough task to reach Qatar.

Italy will find out their opponents in the play-offs on Friday, and they will be hoping to avoid the likes of Portugal, Sweden, and Russia.

The play-offs will be played in March, and Italy will be desperate to avoid missing out on the World Cup for the second successive time.