North Macedonia national football team

The North Macedonia national football team (Macedonian: Фудбалска репрезентација на Северна Македонија, romanized: Fudbalska reprezentacija na Severna Makedonija) represents North Macedonia in international football, and is administered by the Football Federation of Macedonia. The team play their home matches at the Toše Proeski Arena in Skopje.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see North Macedonia women's national football team.

North Macedonia national football team
Nickname(s)
  • Црвени Рисови
    Crveni Risovi (Red Lynxes)
  • Црвени Лавови
    Crveni Lavovi (Red Lions)
AssociationFootball Federation of Macedonia
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachIgor Angelovski
CaptainGoran Pandev
Most capsGoran Pandev (114)
Top scorerGoran Pandev (36)
Home stadiumToše Proeski Arena
FIFA codeMKD
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 65 (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest46 (October 2008)
Lowest166 (March 2017)
First international
 Slovenia 1–4 Macedonia 
(Kranj, Slovenia; 13 October 1993)
Biggest win
 Liechtenstein 1–11 Macedonia 
(Eschen, Liechtenstein; 9 November 1996)
Biggest defeat
 Macedonia 0–5 Belgium 
(Skopje, Macedonia; 7 June 1995)
 Macedonia 0–5 Slovakia 
(Skopje, Macedonia; 7 October 2001)
 Hungary 5–0 Macedonia 
(Budapest, Hungary; 14 November 2001)
 Czech Republic 6–1 Macedonia 
(Teplice, Czech Republic; 8 June 2005)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2020)
Best resultTBD

Since gaining independence from Yugoslavia, North Macedonia has achieved some impressive performances, such as two away draws against England, draws both at home and away to the Netherlands, a home draw with Slovakia, an away draw against Italy, and a home win over Serbia.

On 12 August 2009, as part of the 100th anniversary of football arriving in what is now North Macedonia, the team played a friendly match against Spain. The hosts lost 3–2 in front of a crowd of 30,000.[2] On 12 November 2020, North Macedonia reached their first ever major tournament, having qualified for UEFA Euro 2020 thanks to their performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.

History

North Macedonia national football team represents North Macedonia in international football, and it's controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia. In the period between 1945 and 1991, SR Macedonia was ineligible to play as a team for official matches. The team had mostly played exhibition matches against teams from other republics of SFRJ and was represented by Macedonian players under the traditional red, yellow and white colors. The first football clubs were formed in Ottoman times at the beginning of the 20th century.

The beginning (1993–96)
The squad on the first official international match against Slovenia on 13 October 1993[3]

In 1994, the Republic of Macedonia became a single member of FIFA, and UEFA after the independence and split of the Yugoslavia. The national team began its football journey with a 4–1 victory against Slovenia in a friendly on 13 October 1993 under coach Andon Dončevski.[3]

They went on to win their next two friendlies against Slovenia and Estonia. The inaugural Macedonian side featured Darko Pančev, who played for Inter Milan in Italy.

Euro 1996 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Group 2

The Euro 96 Qualifiers was the first major qualifying tournament that Macedonia participated in as an independent nation and they were grouped with Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus and Armenia. In their opening game, which was also their first ever official match, Macedonia was drawn against the reigning European Champions Denmark.

The game was played in Skopje on 7 September 1994 and it finished 1–1 with Macedonia leading for most of the game after scoring in the fourth minute.[4] In this qualifying stage, Macedonia suffered one of its worst defeats when they lost 0–5 to Belgium at home on 7 June 1995.[5] They failed to qualify for Euro 96, finishing fourth in the group with seven points.[6]

1998 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8

Macedonia's first qualifying attempt for the World Cup saw them grouped with Romania, Ireland, Lithuania, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

The tournament began on 24 April 1996 with a 3–0 win at home against Liechtenstein. On 9 November 1996, Macedonia recorded their biggest win ever, an 11–1 thrashing of Liechtenstein.[7] Half of the goals Macedonia scored in the entire campaign were scored in this match alone. Macedonia failed again to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France, finishing fourth in the group on 13 points.[8]

Euro 2000 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Group 8

Macedonia's journey to qualify for the Euro 2000 tournament in the Netherlands and Belgium saw them grouped with FR Yugoslavia, Ireland, Croatia, and Malta. They once again opened their qualifying campaign with a win after beating Malta 4–0 at home on 6 September 1998. Their most notable result in the campaign was a 1–1 draw against Croatia in June 1999, with an equalizer of Gjorgji Hristov 10 minutes before the end of the game. They helped Yugoslavia to qualify directly and eliminate Croatia because they drew 1–1 against the Republic of Ireland with a last-minute equalizer of Goran Stavrevski. However, they failed to qualify again, finishing fourth in the group with eight points.[9]

2002 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4

Macedonia's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Sweden, Turkey, Slovakia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan. They were unsuccessful in their opening match, going down to Slovakia 2–0 in Slovakia on 3 September 2000. The Macedonians once again failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, which was held in Japan and South Korea, as they finished fourth in the group with seven points.[10]

Euro 2004 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Group 7

The Euro 2004 Qualifiers saw Macedonia grouped alongside England, Turkey, Slovakia, and Liechtenstein. Despite Macedonia failing to win its first four games of the campaign, they managed to record one of the most memorable results of its short history.

On 16 October 2002, Macedonia played former world champions England in Southampton, which was England's first home game in Southampton in almost 100 years. Macedonia grabbed the lead early in the first half after Artim Šakiri scored directly from a corner kick, leaving English goalkeeper David Seaman stunned. England soon leveled the game, but not before Macedonia managed to take the lead once again.

However, the game ended 2–2 after England managed to score a second equaliser in the second half.[11] Macedonia lost to England 2–1 at home in the return leg, which took place in September 2003.[12] Macedonia's only win of the campaign came on 7 June 2003, when they beat Liechtenstein 3–1 at home. Macedonia did not qualify for the Euro 2004 tournament, which was held in Portugal, finishing fourth in the group with six points.[13]

2006 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1

Macedonia was drawn in Group 1 and was grouped with the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Finland, Armenia, and Andorra. They managed to open their campaign with a comfortable 3–0 win at home against Armenia on 18 August 2004. Macedonia did not win another home game for more than three years.

On 9 October 2004, Macedonia managed to hold the Netherlands to a surprise 2–2 draw in Skopje in front of a crowd of 17,000 at the Skopje City Stadium,[14] but in their next game, just four days later, they suffered one of its most embarrassing defeats, a 1–0 loss away to Andorra, one of the world's weakest teams.[15] Also in this tournament, Macedonia set a new team record for most goals conceded in a game when they lost 6–1 away to the Czech Republic on 8 June 2005.

Macedonia went on to concede a further eight goals in the next two qualifying games, both against Finland. On 23 August 2005, coach Slobodan Santrač resigned as coach of Macedonia after just five months on the job due to personal problems, with former player Boban Babunski temporarily taking over as coach. The resignation came just days after they were beaten 3–0 by Finland in Skopje. Despite their poor performance during the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, Macedonia managed to end the campaign on a high with a 0–0 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.[16]

This result meant that Macedonia, with the two draws against the Netherlands, was the only team in the group not to have been defeated by the Netherlands. The Netherlands won 10 of their 12 games in the 2006 World Cup campaign. Macedonia failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finishing fifth in the group with nine points.[17]

Iran tournament

Following the completion of the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament, in November 2005, Macedonia took part in a friendly tournament in Iran consisting of four teams, each team from a different continent. The teams were Macedonia, Iran, Paraguay, and Togo. In their opening match, they won 2–1 against host nation Iran, booking a spot in the final against Paraguay. They lost the final against Paraguay 0–1. Macedonia was the only nation in this friendly tournament not to have qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

Euro 2008 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E

On 27 January 2006 in Switzerland, Macedonia was placed in Group E for the Euro 2008 qualifiers alongside England, Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, and Andorra. On 17 February 2006, former Slovenian national team coach Srečko Katanec was appointed as the head coach and was given a two-year contract.

In the lead-up to the beginning of the qualifiers for Euro 2008, Macedonia managed two results against sides in friendly matches. They beat Ecuador 2–1 in Madrid, their first ever win against a South American nation, and a week later, followed that up with a 1–0 win against Turkey.

Macedonia opened its UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 0–1 win away to Estonia on 16 August 2006. Goce Sedloski scored for Macedonia in the 73rd minute, which meant that Macedonia was the first team to score a goal in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Macedonia hosted England on 6 September 2006 in their second game of the qualifiers. England went on to win 0–1 after Peter Crouch scored for the away side in the 46th minute. This was the first time that Macedonia failed to score against England.[18]

A month later, on 7 October 2006, the two teams met once again in Manchester, where England was held to a 0–0 draw in front of 72,062 people.[19] On 17 October 2007, Macedonia recorded their first win on home soil since August 2004 when they easily defeated Andorra 3–0 in Skopje in an emotional game as it was the day after the death of pop icon Toše Proeski.[20]

Macedonia then recorded one of their most impressive wins to date when they picked up a 2–0 victory over eventual group winners Croatia on 17 November 2007, causing the biggest upset of Group A; it was also a first win for Macedonia over a side that was ranked in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings.[21] Despite some surprising results, Macedonia once again failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals after finishing fifth in the group with 14 points.[22]

2010 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9

On 25 November 2007, just days after Macedonia completed its qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, the groups for European qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup were held in Durban, South Africa, where Macedonia was seeded in Pot 4 and grouped along with the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway and Iceland.[23] Manager Srečko Katanec received a two-year extension on 21 December 2007, which meant he would be under contract through the end of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.[24] In the lead up to the campaign, Macedonia played three friendlies against Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland, which all ended in draws.

Macedonia opened their campaign with a 1–0 home win against Scotland on 6 September 2008 when Ilčo Naumoski scored on a rebound after a well-taken free-kick by Goce Sedloski. Following these impressive results, Macedonia moved up 10 places to 46 in the FIFA World Rankings list for October 2008 which was their highest ever position on the rankings list. Srečko Katanec left the team following a 4–0 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam in April 2009 for allegedly getting into an argument with star player Goran Pandev.[25]

Soon afterward, the manager of the under-21 squad, Mirsad Jonuz, became the new coach of the Macedonian senior team and was signed until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign.[26] On 5 September, Macedonia lost 2–0 to Scotland and then suffered another loss to Norway, which meant that Macedonia once again did not qualify for the World Cup.

Euro 2012 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group B

On 7 February 2010, Macedonia was placed in Group B for the Euro 2012 qualifiers alongside Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Armenia and Andorra.[27] In the lead up to the qualifiers, an under-strength Macedonia side played friendlies against Azerbaijan, Romania, and Malta, winning the first two 3–1 and 1–0 respectively, and tied 1–1 against Malta later the summer.

However, the qualifications did not go as well. Instead, Macedonia finished in a disappointing fifth position in the group with only two wins against minnows Andorra and two draws, against Armenia and Slovakia, both at home. Due to the poor results in the qualifications, the manager Mirsad Jonuz was dismissed on 18 June 2011[28] and replaced by John Toshack,[29] who led Macedonia in the last four matches to one win, one draw and two losses.

2014 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A
FFM's logo until 2014

Macedonia's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Wales.[30] In August 2012, prior to the qualifications, John Toshack would leave as manager[31] and would be replaced by Čedomir Janevski.[32] The national team would begin the qualification round with a loss to Croatia in Zagreb and would go on to draw against Scotland in Glasgow. They lost again to Croatia and won against Serbia in Skopje after a penalty kick taken by Agim Ibraimi.[33] Later in qualification, the national team would go on to lose twice to the eventual group winners Belgium.

Macedonia would win against Wales and lose against Scotland at home. Around the end of September 2013, Janevski would leave the team for Belgian club R.A.E.C. Mons[34] and would be replaced by Zoran Stratev for the last two matches.[35] The national team would suffer a disastrous finish to their qualification campaign with away losses to Wales and Serbia. They would finish last in their group.

After the unsuccessful qualification run, Goran Pandev, Nikolče Noveski, Veliče Šumulikoski and others would retire from the national team due to turbulent relations with the Football Federation of Macedonia.[36] In November 2013, Boško Gjurovski would be appointed the new national team manager.[37]

Euro 2016 qualifiers
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group C

On 23 February 2014, Macedonia was placed in Group C for the Euro 2016 qualifiers alongside Spain, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus and Luxembourg.[38] However, the national team had a disastrous start against Spain in Valencia with a 1–5 loss. The only win they collected was against Luxembourg in Skopje.

After that match, Macedonia was brought into disastrous run of a four losses. Due to the poor results in the qualifications, manager Boško Gjurovski was dismissed on 7 April 2015[39] and replaced by Ljubinko Drulović.[40] The miserable run, however, continued with the losses against Slovakia and surprisingly Luxembourg by late goal of Sébastien Thill, after a missed penalty kick of Besart Abdurahimi. Their disappointing performances was continued against Spain in Skopje, beside their good game, and against, Ukraine also home.

In the last match against Belarus in Barysaw, Macedonia played a draw that broke the black streak of seven losses. The team still ended the qualifications at the last place of the group with a worse head-to-head scoring with Luxembourg.

2018 World Cup qualifiers
Main articles: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G

On 25 July 2015, in the middle of the Euro 2016 qualifying, the group draws for European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup were held in Saint Petersburg. Macedonia was seeded in Pot 5 and grouped along with Spain again, for the first time with Italy, with the rival Albania and with Israel and Liechtenstein.[41]

In October 2015, Drulović left the national team to join Serbian club Partizan[42] and the manager place was taken over by the former manager of Rabotnički, and former assistant coach of the national team Igor Angelovski.[43] In the same month, the Macedonian football superstar Goran Pandev came back to the national team after the two years of absence.[44]

Macedonia started with another disappointing performance with a loss to Albania in Shkodër, with a goal scored by Bekim Balaj in the last moments of the game, in a match that was played over two days because of interruption in the 76th minute due to very bad weather conditions.[45][46] Later on they also lost to Israel at home by missing a penalty kick by Adis Jahović in the last moments of the game.[47] After that, the national team also lost to Italy beside their 2–1 lead with the goals scored by Ilija Nestorovski and Ferhan Hasani.[48] At the end of the another year to forget Macedonia was outclassed by Spain in Granada (4–0)[49] and after four rounds Macedonia had not scored a single point which was the worst qualifying start in the history of the national team.[50]

Finally, in March 2017, Macedonia recorded their first win in the qualifying against Liechtenstein (3–0).[51] Then again, expectantly, lost to Spain in Skopje (1–2).[52] They also defeated Israel away through the lone goal by Goran Pandev, which was also a first ever win against Israel.[53] However, in the next round Macedonia missed a good opportunity to collect yet another win, this time against Albania in Strumica, but the game ended with a draw (1–1).[54]

2018–19 UEFA Nations League & Euro 2020 qualifiers: rise
Main articles: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D, UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group G, and UEFA Euro 2020 Group C

In the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, Macedonia played in League D, the fourth and lowest division of that competition.[55] Macedonia were drawn in Group 4 with Armenia, Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.[56] The national team won the group with five wins and one loss, and were promoted to the League C for the next edition of the Nations League. Macedonia were assured of a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs place.[57]

Macedonia was renamed North Macedonia after the Prespa agreement came into force on 12 February 2019. For the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying North Macedonia were placed in Group G, along with Austria, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia.[58] North Macedonia managed two first impressive results, drawing Slovenia 1–1 away[59] and before that, defeated Latvia 3–1 at home,[60] to put their hope high to qualify for the first ever UEFA Euro. However, North Macedonia would soon face setbacks when they faced off stronger sides, with the team fell 0–1 to Poland[61] and 1–4 to Austria, both games were played in Skopje.[62] The situation got some improvement, with the team achieved a successful 1–1 away draw to Israel,[63] and more importantly, a 2–1 win over Slovenia at home soil that gave North Macedonia some chances to reach top two, and, indirectly helped to relieve pressure for Poland.[64] Yet, it was Poland that killed off Macedonia's hope to achieve a top-two finish when North Macedonia lost 0–2 away to Poland.[65] With the hope dented, North Macedonia lost 1–2 away to Austria and had to finish in third place, the highest position achieved in Macedonian football history.[66]

However, due to having successfully taken first place in the UEFA Nations League earlier, North Macedonia was able to reach the country's first ever competitive playoff in history and was scheduled against Kosovo. Eventually, in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs first game, North Macedonia overcame Kosovo 2–1 at home, thus increased the chance to make a historic Euro debut for North Macedonia when they faced Georgia in the final of Path D's play-offs on 13 November. In the Path D play-off final, North Macedonia defeated Georgia 1–0 in away fixture due to Goran Pandev's goal, with the result securing a historic first major tournament qualification for the Macedonians.[67]

2020–21 UEFA Nations League
Main article: 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C

After winning the League D group in the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, North Macedonia got promoted to the third division of the competition - League C. Macedonia was drawn in Group 2 together with Armenia, Estonia and Georgia.[68] North Macedonia has a major chance to make history by trying to reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff for the first time, and after five games, it appeared North Macedonia would be the favorite to reach the opportunity. Yet, in their decisive game, which the Macedonians only needed a draw to get promotion and the playoff opportunity, they wasted it with a disheartening 1–0 loss to Armenia, thus not just wasted the chance, but also, North Macedonia would be unable to qualify for the play-offs.

2022 World Cup qualifiers
Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group J

For the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign North Macedonia was drawn in the Group J with Germany, Romania, Iceland, Armenia and Liechtenstein.[69]

Stadiums

Stadiums which have hosted North Macedonia international football matches:

  • Toše Proeski Arena
  • Mladost
Number of
matches		 Stadium First international Last international
107 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje[70] 23 March 1994 15 November 2020
5 Stadion Goce Delčev, Prilep[71] 27 March 1996 15 November 2011
3 Stadion Mladost, Strumica[72] 14 November 2009 9 October 2017
1 Gradski stadion, Tetovo[73] 14 May 1994 14 May 1994
1 Stadion Nikola Mantov, Kochani[74] 12 April 1995 12 April 1995
1 Gradski stadion, Kumanovo[75] 29 September 1998 29 September 1998
Kit supplier Period
Adidas 1950–1993
Gems 1994–1998
Puma 1998–2014
Jako 2014–present

Recent results and upcoming fixtures
Main articles: Macedonia national football team results (1993–2018) and North Macedonia national football team results (2019–present)

2020
5 September 2020–21 UEFA Nations League North Macedonia  2–1  Armenia Skopje, North Macedonia
15:00 CET
Report
Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
8 September 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Georgia  1–1  North Macedonia Tbilisi, Georgia
18:00 CET
Report
Stadium: Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Peter Kjærsgaard-Andersen (Denmark)
8 October UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs North Macedonia  2–1  Kosovo Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CET
Report
Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Danny Makkelie (the Netherlands)
11 October 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Estonia  3–3  North Macedonia Tallinn, Estonia
18:00 CET
Report
Stadium: A. Le Coq Arena
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
14 October 2020–21 UEFA Nations League North Macedonia  1–1  Georgia Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CET
Report
Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)
12 November UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs Georgia  0–1  North Macedonia Tbilisi, Georgia
18:00 CET Report
Stadium: Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
15 November 2020–21 UEFA Nations League North Macedonia  2–1  Estonia Skopje, North Macedonia
15:00 CET
Report
Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Marius Avram (Romania)
18 November 2020–21 UEFA Nations League Armenia  1–0  North Macedonia Nicosia, Cyprus
18:00 CET
Report Stadium: GSP Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)

2021
25 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Romania  v  North Macedonia Ploiești, Romania
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Ilie Oană Stadium
28 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification North Macedonia  v  Liechtenstein Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
31 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Germany  v  North Macedonia Duisburg, Germany
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: MSV-Arena
13 June UEFA Euro 2020 Group C Austria  v  North Macedonia Bucharest, Romania
19:00 CEST (UTC+2) Report Stadium: Arena Națională
17 June UEFA Euro 2020 Group C Ukraine  v  North Macedonia Bucharest, Romania
16:00 CEST (UTC+2) Report Stadium: Arena Națională
21 June UEFA Euro 2020 Group C North Macedonia  v  Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands
18:00 CEST (UTC+2) Report Stadium: Johan Cruijff Arena
2 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification North Macedonia  v  Armenia Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
5 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Iceland  v  North Macedonia Reykjavík, Iceland
18:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
8 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification North Macedonia  v  Romania Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
8 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Liechtenstein  v  North Macedonia Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
11 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification North Macedonia  v  Germany Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena
11 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Armenia  v  North Macedonia Yerevan, Armenia
18:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium
14 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification North Macedonia  v  Iceland Skopje, North Macedonia
18:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena

Players

Current squad

Squad named for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs match against Georgia and 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C matches against Estonia and Armenia on 12, 15 and 18 November 2020.[76]
Caps and goals as of 18 November 2020 after game against Armenia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Stole Dimitrievski 1 (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993 37 0 Rayo Vallecano
12 1GK Martin Bogatinov (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986 18 0 Ethnikos
22 1GK Damjan Shishkovski (1995-03-18) 18 March 1995 6 0 Doxa
13 2DF Stefan Ristovski (3rd captain) (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 60 2 Dinamo Zagreb
6 2DF Visar Musliu (1994-11-13) 13 November 1994 26 1 Fehérvár
14 2DF Darko Velkovski (1995-06-21) 21 June 1995 26 1 Rijeka
15 2DF Gjoko Zajkov (1995-02-10) 10 February 1995 17 1 Charleroi
2 2DF Egzon Bejtulai (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 16 0 Shkëndija
20 2DF Tome Kitanovski 8 (1992-05-21) 21 May 1992 2 0 Makedonija GjP
8 3MF Ezgjan Alioski 3 5 (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 39 7 Leeds United
20 3MF Stefan Spirovski 6 (1990-08-23) 23 August 1990 37 1 AEK
16 3MF Boban Nikolov 6 (1994-07-28) 28 July 1994 29 2 Lecce
21 3MF Elif Elmas 5 (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 22 4 Napoli
5 3MF Arijan Ademi 2 (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991 18 3 Dinamo Zagreb
11 3MF Tihomir Kostadinov (1996-03-04) 4 March 1996 8 0 Ružomberok
17 3MF Dushko Trajchevski 8 (1990-11-01) 1 November 1990 6 0 Doxa
19 3MF Ljupcho Doriev 7 (1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 3 0 Shkëndija
16 3MF Darko Micevski 8 (1992-04-12) 12 April 1992 2 0 RFS
3 3MF Ennur Totre 4 (1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 2 0 Shkëndija
10 4FW Goran Pandev 2 (Captain) (1983-07-27) 27 July 1983 114 36 Genoa
7 4FW Ivan Trichkovski (Vice-captain) (1987-04-18) 18 April 1987 62 6 AEK
9 4FW Aleksandar Trajkovski (1992-09-05) 5 September 1992 60 15 Mallorca
23 4FW Ilija Nestorovski (1990-03-12) 12 March 1990 44 9 Udinese
18 4FW Vlatko Stojanovski (1997-04-23) 23 April 1997 6 2 Chambly
Notes
  • 1 = Dimitrievski was only available for the match against Georgia, whereas he was suspended for the games against Estonia and Armenia.
  • 2 = Ademi and Pandev withdrew from the squad after the match against Georgia.
  • 3 = Alioski was not available for the match against Estonia, due to suspension.
  • 4 = Totre was not available for the match against Estonia.
  • 5 = Alioski and Elmas withdrew from the squad after the match against Estonia.
  • 6 = Nikolov and Spirovski were not available for the match against Armenia, due to suspension.
  • 7 = Doriev was additionally added for the matches against Estonia and Armenia.
  • 8 = Micevski, Kitanovski and Trajchevski were additionally added for the match against Armenia.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Daniel Bozhinovski COVID-19 (1989-07-08) 8 July 1989 0 0 Sileks v.  Georgia, 12 November 2020 WD
GK Dejan Iliev INJ (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 0 0 Shrewsbury Town v.  Georgia, 8 September 2020
DF Kire Ristevski (1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 42 0 Újpest v.  Estonia, 15 November 2020 WD
DF Kristijan Toshevski INJ (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 8 0 Tirana v.  Kosovo, 8 October 2020
MF Enis Bardhi INJ (1995-07-02) 2 July 1995 31 5 Levante v.  Georgia, 12 November 2020 WD
MF Ferhan Hasani (1990-06-18) 18 June 1990 39 2 Partizani v.  Estonia, 11 October 2020
MF Daniel Avramovski (1995-02-20) 20 February 1995 4 0 Kayserispor v.  Armenia, 5 September 2020 WD
FW Krste Velkoski COVID-19 (1988-02-20) 20 February 1988 14 0 Sarajevo v.  Georgia, 12 November 2020 WD
Notes
  • INJ = Injured.
  • WD = Withdrew from the current squad.
  • U21 = Called up from national U21 squad.
  • COVID-19 = Caught COVID-19

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1930 to 1990 Within Yugoslavia team
1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990		 Within Yugoslavia team
4th, 5th, 7th, 5th, 4th, 7th, 16th, 5th
1994 Did not enter Did not enter
1998 Did not qualify1041522184/6
2002 1014511184/6
2006 1223711245/7
2010 82155114/5
2014 102177166/6
2018 1032515155/6
2022 To be determined To be determined
2026
Total 0/8 – – – – – – 60 14 12 34 71 102 —

The North Macedonia national football team has yet to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament. In their attempt at qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, they finished fourth in Group 9 with seven points. Surprisingly, due to the closeness of the group throughout the campaign (only five teams in the group), North Macedonia (then the Republic of Macedonia) remained in contention to qualify until the final group game, which North Macedonia lost 2–1 away to Norway, although Norway would be the only runner up to not make the playoffs that year.

UEFA European Championship
Main article: North Macedonia at the UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
1960 to 1992 Within Yugoslavia team
1960, 1968, 1976, 1984, 1992		 Within Yugoslavia team
2nd, 2nd, 4th, 8th, disqualified
1996 Did not qualify 10 1 4 5 9 18 4/6
2000 8 2 2 4 13 14 4/5
2004 8 1 3 4 11 14 4/5
2008 12 4 2 6 12 12 5/7
2012 10 2 2 6 8 14 5/6
2016 10 1 1 8 6 18 6/6
2020 Qualified 12 6 2 4 15 14 3/6 (PO winners)
Total 1/7 – – – – – – 70 17 16 37 74 103 —

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Position Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 4 1st 6 5 0 1 14 5 41st
2020–21 C 2 2nd 6 2 3 1 9 8 40th
2022–23 C To be determined
Total 12 7 3 2 23 13 40th

All-time head-to-head record
As of 18 November 2020, after the match against Armenia.

Statistics

See all-time players list.
Updated as for 18 November 2020

Captains

This is a list of Macedonian captains for five or more official and friendly matches. Goran Pandev is the current captain of the Macedonian national team.

Player Period Games as captain (Total caps) Major tournaments as captain (Games)l
Darko Pančev 1993–1995 6 (6)
Toni Micevski 1996–2001 12 (44)
Artim Šakiri 2002–2005 10 (72)
Goce Sedloski 2004–2009 43 (100)
Veliče Šumulikoski 2009–2012 11 (84)
Goran Pandev 2010–2013 22 (75)
Tome Pachovski 2014–2015 10 (46)
Goran Pandev 2016 – 61 (114)

Note: Some of the other players to have captained the team include: Dragi Kanatlarovski (1 cap) 1993, Ilija Najdoski (3) 1994, Dančo Celeski (2) 1995, Ljupčo Markovski (4) 1995 to 1997, Mitko Stojkovski (2) 1998, Boban Babunski (2) 1996 and 1999, Gjorgji Hristov (2) 2002 to 2003, Petar Miloševski (2) 2004 and 2008, Ilcho Naumoski (1) 2008, Igor Mitreski (4) 2007 to 2010, Aleksandar Lazevski (1) 2010, Nikolče Noveski (4) 2011 to 2013, Daniel Mojsov (1) 2012, Boban Grncharov (3) 2012 to 2014, Blazhe Ilijoski (1) 2014, Blagoja Todorovski (1) 2014, Vanche Shikov (4) 2015, Ivan Trichkovski (4) 2018 to 2020, Ilija Nestorovski (1) 2019 and Stefan Ristovski (2) 2019 to 2020.

Coaching history

Updated on 18 November 2020[77]

Name First game Last game P W D L GF GA GD Win % Achievements
Andon Donchevski 13 October 1993 15 November 1995 17 5 5 7 23 23 +0 029.41
Gjoko Hadjievski 27 March 1996 9 June 1999 28 10 7 11 42 37 +5 035.71
Dragi Kanatlarovski 5 September 1999 13 February 2005 31 8 8 15 32 37 −5 025.81
Gjore Jovanovski 2 June 2001 10 January 2002 13 0 6 7 9 27 −18 000.00
Nikola Ilievski 27 March 2002 11 June 2003 13 3 4 6 23 24 −1 023.08
Slobodan Santrač 30 March 2005 17 August 2005 4 1 0 3 4 12 −8 025.00
Boban Babunski (caretaker) 7 September 2005 10 August 2011 4 2 1 1 4 6 −2 050.00
Srečko Katanec 1 March 2006 1 April 2009 27 9 7 11 28 29 −1 033.33
Mirsad Jonuz 6 June 2009 4 June 2011 20 7 4 9 21 19 +2 035.00
Vlatko Kostov (caretaker) 7 September 2010 7 September 2010 1 0 1 0 2 2 +0 000.00
John Toshack 2 September 2011 29 May 2012 8 1 4 3 4 8 −4 012.50
Goce Sedloski (caretaker) 15 August 2012 15 August 2012 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
Chedomir Janevski 7 September 2012 10 September 2013 14 5 1 8 15 19 −4 035.71
Zoran Stratev (caretaker) 11 October 2013 15 October 2013 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 000.00
Boshko Gjurovski 5 March 2014 30 March 2015 11 2 3 6 7 12 −5 018.18
Ljubinko Drulović 14 June 2015 12 October 2015 5 0 1 4 1 6 −5 000.00
Igor Angelovski 12 November 2015 45 20 10 15 67 52 +15 044.44 UEFA Euro 2020 – TBD
Total 241 74 62 105 279 317 −38 030.71 —

FIFA ranking history

FIFA-ranking yearly averages for North Macedonia.[78]

1993199419951996199719981999200020012002
x909486925968768985
2003200420052006200720082009201020112012
929287545856657610381
2013201420152016201720182019
83100136162766868

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
    2. FFM withdraws tickets for football match with Spain, to replace them with new ones Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine MIA – Macedonian Information Agency, 7 August 2009
    3. "SVN – MKD match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    4. "MKD – DEN match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    5. "MKD – BEL match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    6. "EURO 1996 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    7. "LIE – MKD match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    8. "WC 1998 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    9. "EURO 2000 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    10. "WC 2002 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    11. "ENG – MKD match report (2002)". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    12. "MKD – ENG match report (2003)". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    13. "EURO 2004 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    14. "MKD – NED match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    15. "AND – MKD match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    16. "NED – MKD match report". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    17. "WC 2006 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    18. "MKD – ENG match report (2006)". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    19. "ENG – MKD match report (2006)". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    20. "Macedonia finally wins in Skopje". MacedonianFootball.com. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
    21. "Macedonia – Croatia 2:0". MacedonianFootball.com. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    22. "EURO 2008 Qual's". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    23. "2010 World Cup draw". MacedonianFootball.com. 25 November 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    24. "Katanec stays with Macedonia". MacedonianFootball.com. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    25. "Katanec lost the control over the team". MacedonianFootball.com. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    26. "Mirsad Jonuz named as new Macedonian coach". MacedonianFootball.com. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    27. "Russia, Slovakia, Ireland, Armenia and Andorra". MacedonianFootball.com. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    28. "Mirsad Jonuz fired!". MacedonianFootball.com. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    29. "John Toshack is the new manager". MacedonianFootball.com. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    30. "Tough group for Macedonia!". MacedonianFootball.com. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    31. "Manager John Toshack relieved of his duties". 12 August 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    32. "Janevski officially presented as new manager". 22 August 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    33. "Macedonia – Serbia 1:0". MacedonianFootball.com. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    34. "Janevski leaves Macedonia NT for Mons post". MacedonianFootball.com. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    35. "Zoran Stratev named caretaker manager". MacedonianFootball.com. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    36. "Goran Pandev to retire from national team". MacedonianFootball.com. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    37. "Бошко Ѓуровски – нов селектор на македонската репрезентација!" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 26 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    38. "EURO 2016: Macedonia drawn in Group C". MacedonianFootball.com. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    39. "Официјално: Бошко Ѓуровски доби отказ од ФФМ" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    40. "Љубинко Друловиќ е нов селектор на Македонија!" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    41. "Spain, Italy drawn in Macedonia's group". MacedonianFootball.com. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    42. "Збогум, Македонија: Партизан го потврди изборот на Друловиќ" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    43. "ФФМ потврди: Ангеловски нов предводник на А-тимот" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    44. "НАЈРАДОСНАТА ВЕСТ: Горан Пандев се враќа во репрезентацијата!" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    45. "Прекинатиот меч Албанија – Македонија (1–1) ќе се доигра утре, од 76.минута" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
    46. "WC qualifier: Albania – Macedonia 2:1 (Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
    47. "Macedonia – Israel 1:2 (Photo&Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
    48. "Macedonia – Italy 2:3 (Photo&Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
    49. "Spain – Macedonia 4:0 (Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
    50. "Македонија со убедливо најлош квалификациски старт во историјата!" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
    51. "Македонија убедливо со 3:0 победи во Лихтенштајн" (in Macedonian). FFM.mk. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    52. "Macedonia – Spain 1:2 (Video))". MacedonianFootball.com. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
    53. "Israel – Macedonia 0:1 (Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
    54. "Macedonia – Albania 1:1 (Video)". MacedonianFootball.com. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
    55. "УЕФА потврди: Македонија носител во Лига на нации! (ФОТО)" (in Macedonian). Sport1.mk. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
    56. "Лига на нации: Македонија во група со Ерменија, Лихтенштајн и Гибралтар" (in Macedonian). Gol.mk. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
    57. "Мисијата комплетирана – земавме залет за Европско!" (in Macedonian). Ekipa.mk. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
    58. "EURO 2020 qualifying draw made". MacedonianFootball.com. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
    59. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/season=2020/matches/round=2001086/match=2026049/
    60. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/season=2020/matches/round=2001086/match=2026022/
    61. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/season=2020/matches/round=2001086/match=2026080/
    62. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/season=2020/matches/round=2001086/match=2026150/
    63. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2026172--israel-vs-north-macedonia/
    64. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2026222--north-macedonia-vs-slovenia/
    65. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50035075
    66. https://www.espn.com/soccer/report?gameId=528870
    67. "Georgia 0 North Macedonia 1". BBC Sport. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
    68. "UEFA Nations League". uefa.com. 1 September 2020.
    69. "2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw made". MacedonianFootball.com. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
    70. "Telekom Arena, Skopje". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    71. "Gradski Stadion Goce Delčev, Prilep". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    72. "Stadion Mladost, Strumica". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    73. "Gradski Stadion, Tetovo". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    74. "Nikola Mantov Municipal Stadium, Kocani". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    75. "Gradski Stadion, Kumanovo". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    76. Игор Ангеловски го објави списокот со фудбалери за ноемвриските натпревари at ffm.com.mk, 6 November 2020 (in Macedonian)
    77. "List of all senior national team coaches". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
    78. . fifa.com https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/associations/association/MKD/men/. Retrieved 13 January 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.