The home side knocked and knocked until eventually, the pressure told.
Elmas drove toward the edge of the area, nudged the ball past Bastoni and felt the defender clip him a fraction too late, and immediately the whistle went.
The referee approached the scene, showing Bastoni a yellow card in the process, while the North Macedonians pointed towards the penalty spot, but the referee shook his head and pointed in the area just outside the box.
The North Macedonians weren't happy with that, but they all backed off.
A moment later, Enis Bardhi placed the ball carefully before taking a few measured steps back while in front of him, Italy's wall shuffled into place.
Donnarumma crouched behind it, eyes fixed on the midfielder as he arranged his wall, but he was forced to focus when the referee's whistle came.
Without waiting for any more preparation, Enis moved towards the ball.
His run-up was slow, but his strike wasn't.
