Italy v North Macedonia live stream, Thursday 24 March, 7.45pm GMT
Italy will move a step closer to Qatar if they beat North Macedonia in their World Cup qualification play-off semi-final on Thursday.
Roberto Mancini’s men are the reigning European champions after their victory over England at Wembley last summer. Italy were deserved winners of the delayed tournament, with wins against Turkey, Switzerland, Wales, Austria, Belgium and Spain along the way.
They played attacking and cohesive football, dominating possession and pressing high up the pitch. Italy looked like a club side, which is testament to the coaching job Mancini has done since being handed the reins after the country’s failure to quality for the 2018 World Cup.
However, the Azzurri suffered something of a post-European Championship hangover. Having won each of their three World Cup qualifiers prior to the tournament, Italy proceeded to drop eight points after it. Draws with Bulgaria, Switzerland (twice) and Northern Ireland proved costly, allowing the Swiss to top Group C and sending Italy to the play-offs.
This semi-final against North Macedonia should be negotiated with a minimum of fuss, particularly as the tie will take place in Palermo, but a potential final against Portugal leaves Italy with plenty of work to do.
Fresh from participating in their first ever major tournament at Euro 2020, North Macedonia secured a second-place finish in Group J in November. Germany were always going to win that section, but North Macedonia did well to finish ahead of Iceland, Armenia and Romania to advance to the play-offs.
Italy could be without several key defenders for Thursday’s game, including Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Spinazzola, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. Manuel Locatelli is a doubt after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, while Federico Chiesa is out for the season.
Goran Pandev, who plies his trade with Parma in Serie B, hung up his boots at international level after Euro 2020.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm GMT on Thursday, 24 March, and UK viewers can watch it on Sky Sports Arena. See below for international broadcast options.
VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch World Cup qualifiers from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch Steve Bruce’s extra-red face without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
